Mark Buehrle Tosses No Hitter, Felix Hernandez Hurt

Winning the 2005 World Series was the best thing that could have happened to the Chicago White Sox. However, the ramifications of going so deep into October meant being super worn out in 2006. Mark Buehrle was one particular pitcher seemingly very affected by the large inning workload.

2005 stats: 16-8 with a 3.12 ERA and 149 SO in 236.2 IP
2006 stats: 12-13 with a 4.99 ERA and 98 SO in 204.0 IP

Well, I think Buehrle got over the mental hurdle of coming back with a one walk no hitter against the Texas Rangers Wednesday night. The ironic thing is that he walked Sammy Sosa, who before the game had only walked once in 49 at-bats. Go figure. A perfect game would have been great, but a no hitter still puts you pretty special company. Buehrle threw 66 strikes on 106 pitches, a surprisingly low number given the K’s (and no punch-outs to Sosa).

Mucho congrats.
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In other news, former teen phenom Felix Hernandez is hurt.

When Hernandez left, a hush fell over the Safeco Field crowd…

The entire Mariners organization will be second-guessed as this was the first start for Hernandez in a week, due to various circumstances. If he misses more than a month, say hello to the A.L. West cellar Seattle.
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Alex Rodriguez hit another home run. That makes a MLB leading nine. Before the game, A-Rod was slugging .979 to push his OPS to a ridiculous 1.427. You can do the math to figure out his OBP.
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Barry Bonds homered in the bottom of the 8th inning to tie the game at 5-all against the St. Louis Cardinals. That puts him at four on the season and 738 for his career, only 17 away from tying Hank Aaron’s all-time record. A win would put the team’s record at 5-8. Absolutely terrible. The hitting needs to get hot. Randy Winn needs to step up.