It would have been easy for John Lackey to get distracted when the Angels took on the Red Sox on July 29.
After all, the Angels traded for slugger Mark Teixeira before the game, and Lackey had to deal with teammate Casey Kotchman being traded to the Braves in exchange for Teixeira.
But Lackey was as focused as ever as he carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning against Boston before Dustin Pedroia hit a clean single with one out in the inning to break up the no-hit bid. Kevin Youkilis followed with a two-run homer, but the Angels still won the game, 6-2, at Fenway Park.
Every day from now to Spring Training, MLB.com/Live will air a classic game on Baseball's Best. Lackey's masterful performance can be seen on Tuesday at noon PT.
The big Texan was just two outs from the first no-hitter by an opponent at Fenway Park since 1958, but Pedroia ended that bid with a line-drive single on a curveball from Lackey.
"That's probably my best pitch," Lackey said about his curveball after the game. "I can sleep on that. I just want to win. The no-hitter would have been nice, but it's a 'W.'"
Lackey then lost the shutout on a home run over the Green Monster by Youkilis, but it was essentially meaningless as the Angels had tacked on six runs against the Red Sox and Clay Buchholz.
The Angels added their runs in three different two-run spurts, including Garret Anderson's two-run home run in the fourth inning.
But the Angels didn't need many runs with the way Lackey was throwing as he clearly had his best stuff that night. Lackey also struck out four batters and walked two.
"He was awesome," Pedroia said after the game. "He put on a show. We were hitting some balls hard, but kind of right at some guys. Once he gets the lead in games, we know what he's going to do. There's no secret about him, and he's got good stuff, too."
It was a memorable day for the Angels because it was also the day the Angels traded for Teixeira in a surprising move as the club sent Kotchman and Minor Leaguer Steve Marek to Atlanta.
The Angels had long looked for a big bat in the lineup, and Teixeira was the type of player the Angels were looking for.
But while the trade made the headlines, it was Lackey's near no-hitter that was the icing on the cake.
"You're not going to get a better pitched game than that, for sure," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said after the game. "Unfortunately, that ninth inning, he didn't finish the no-hitter or shutout, but against that lineup, to pitch that well and that deep into the game, that's a great game by John Lackey."
