Duchscherer arrives as a starter

Duchscherer arrives as a starter
Righty flirts with no-hitter, allows one single in eight innings
By David Biderman / MLB.com

OAKLAND -- A reliever for most of his six years in the Major Leagues, Justin Duchscherer appears more than capable of starting games for the Oakland Athletics.

In just his 12th career start, his seventh of 2008, Duchscherer pitched eight innings of one-hit ball against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night at McAfee Coliseum, losing a no-hit bid after 6 1/3 innings when David Ortiz lined a single to right field but carrying the A's to a 3-0 win.

Duchscherer worked eight innings and Huston Street completed the one-hitter with a perfect ninth.

Duchscherer was perfect through five innings until he hit catcher Jason Varitek with an 0-1 slider to open the sixth. He mixed a fastball, curveball and slider to mow down one Red Sox (31-21) one hitter after another, generating flyouts against 13 of the first 16 batters he faced.

Duchscherer, who entered the game with a 2.67 ERA over 33 2/3 innings pitched and a 3-3 record, had previously never pitched past the seventh inning. Street replaced Duchscherer, who threw 101 pitches and struck out four, in the ninth inning.

Josh Beckett (5-4) wasn't too shabby himself, allowing just seven hits and two runs over seven innings, but the Athletics (27-23) did enough damage to net their pitcher a win.

Emil Brown hit a fielder's-choice RBI in the second inning to bring home Mike Sweeney, who began the inning with a double. Ryan Sweeney homered in the seventh and the A's added a run in the eighth.

But he didn't go nine!



The A's pulled a