Green: Flash of light to save a bout of darkness

If the blood in your veins bleeds Red Sox red, you began this weekend still mulling over that three-game sweep in New York. You were having flashbacks of no-hit bids, ejections and double-steals. The Red Sox just couldn’t find their rhythm in the Bronx. “Little pieces of soul ripped out. Will to live evaporating,” I wrote at the time. “Not how I wanted to spend my Labor Day Weekend.”

So it was that I awoke on Saturday, soul still ragged, in Tucson where I was visiting friends for the holiday. My black mood quickly became even darker: Rodney Harrison had been suspended four games for using human growth hormone. Apparently, New England sports teams were being sucked into some sort of evil vortex of doom.

In need of solace, but not expecting to find any, my friends (also Red Sox followers) cast about for a place we could watch the game. After making some calls, we headed to the only place in the area with access to NESN: Hooters.  Chowing down on their famous wings (they really are very good), it was the end of the fourth inning before I started to say, in surprise, “Oh, my God. He hasn’t given up any ...” — I just stopped myself in time.

Buchholz seemed to tire in the fifth and sixth innings, and I was worried Terry Francona would take him out before he allowed a hit. (Apparently, these fears were not unjustified; the rookie was to be removed once he reached the 120-pitch threshold — a chilling indictment of this counting-crazy age.) He started trying to be too fine, and consequently, began walking guys. After a meeting on the mound and working out of his self-imposed jam, however, the adrenaline seemed to take over and he finished the game strong. He was helped by an apparent breakthrough: in the past, Buchholz has relied on his fastball and either his changeup or his curve — but on Saturday, in the late innings, he went to the curveball for the first time. By game’s end, he was mixing all three of his pitches. Though the first curve he threw was a bit flat and was called a ball, by the end of the night its telltale 12-to-6 break was so deceiving that Nick Markakis was caught looking at one to end the game.

For Red Sox fans, this long weekend has seemed even longer. That series against the Yankees now feels like ancient history. Today’s game? The first game of the rest of the season.

Saturday’s game was a lot of things, and a no-hitter was just one of them. For the Red Sox, it was a 10-0 win, snapping a four-game losing streak. For Clay Buchholz, it was a coming of age as a pitcher. And for the Faithful, it was a triple shot of espresso with an endorphin chaser. A soul-restorative, you might say.

Sarah Green is a freelance writer who can be reached at sgreen@gmail.com.