Hours after the American League West leaders acquired slugger Mark Teixeira in a trade, Lackey came within two outs of a no-hitter to lead Los Angeles past the Boston Red Sox 6-2.
A right-hander from Abilene, Lackey appeared to be headed for the history books until Dustin Pedroia grounded a sharp single through the left side with one out in the ninth inning.
Kevin Youkilis followed with a home run over the Green Monster to spoil the shutout bid, but Lackey finished the two-hitter to help the Angels improve the major leagues’ best record to 66-40.
“A no-hitter would have been nice,” he said. “You know what’s going on, but it wasn’t affecting me. I just wanted to win the game.”
Pedroia said Lackey threw him a slider on the first pitch for a called strike, then tried another.
“Even the pitch he threw was a good pitch. I just got the barrel on it,” Pedroia said. “He was awesome. He put on a show. We hit some balls hard, but right at guys.”
Lackey (9-2) almost became the first visiting pitcher in 50 years to toss a no-hitter at Fenway, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Hall of Famer Jim Bunning did it for the Detroit Tigers on July 20, 1958.
The AL leader in earned-run average last season, Lackey struck out four batters and walked two in his 12th career complete game and second this year. He missed the first six weeks of the season with a strained triceps.
As Lackey left the field, he received polite applause from the remnants of a sellout crowd.
Red Sox fans are growing accustomed to great pitching performances. The past two major league no-hitters were thrown by Boston pitchers at Fenway.
Jon Lester’s gem in May followed Clay Buchholz’s no-hitter last September in his second big league start. Buchholz was the losing pitcher Tuesday.
Lackey showed no emotion following Pedroia’s single, but he barked for a new ball after Youkilis’ homer.
“I don’t want to say I was crushed, but it was a tough feeling,” Angels catcher Jeff Mathis said. “I was trying not to shake so bad and was really nervous. I’ve never been involved in something like that.”
Angels manager Mike Scioscia said the disappointment was felt through the dugout - even though his team won for the 11th time in 13 games. The Angels are 7-1 with seven straight wins this year against Boston, which fell two games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
“Your heart drops a little,” he said. “You aren’t going to get a better-pitched game than that. Against that lineup, pitching that well, that deep into the game - that’s just a great performance by Lackey.”
Lackey allowed two baserunners - on a hit batter and a walk - in the first six innings.
David Ortiz led off the seventh with a long drive that Vladimir Guerrero caught with a hop just a few steps in front of the bullpen wall in right. Manny Ramirez followed with a chopper down the third-base line; Chone Figgins’ throw pulled first baseman Robb Quinlan off the bag, but because Ramirez was in a brisk jog he was out anyway.
The fans let Ramirez know they didn’t think he was hustling, booing the enigmatic outfielder who could be traded before Thursday’s deadline.
Lackey hadn’t had much luck against the Red Sox. He was 2-6 with a 6.01 ERA against them in his career, including a 1-4 record and 7.46 ERA at Fenway.
