And Alfonzo, who two winters ago nearly signed with the Sox before opting for a longer term deal with the Giants, delivered the death blow. A day after he crushed the Sox with a tie-breaking two-run shot in the seventh inning off Alan Embree, Alfonzo broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning by cranking a grand slam off Mike Timlin.
Together, Schmidt and Alfonzo (with an assist from Holbrook) sent the Sox home from their six-game swing through Colorado and San Francisco a disappointing 2-4. One bright note: The Sox remained 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading Yankees, who lost to the Dodgers, 5-4.
"Right now, Alfonzo is a thorn in my side," said catcher Jason Varitek who called both game-breaking pitches.
Not that Schmidt was any less prickly. Schmidt's gem -- he no-hit the Sox until Kevin Youkilis doubled into the left field corner leading off the sixth inning -- unfolded 33 days after he went the distance in one-hitting the Cubs, 1-0, at Wrigley Field. He became the first pitcher this year to blank the Sox (they were the last team in the majors to be shut out) and the first to throw a complete-game one-hitter against them since Mike Mussina of the Yankees Sept. 2, 2001.
"We believe every time he takes the mound he has a shot at pitching a no-hitter," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "That's the way I felt about Pedro Martinez when he pitched for me [in Montreal]. You have to go to pitchers like Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, [Curt] Schilling and [Randy] Johnson to find guys that throw one-hitters within a couple of months of each other."
Schmidt overshadowed a dandy start by Bronson Arroyo, who held the Giants scoreless until Holbrook took center stage in the seventh inning.
"He pitched his heart out," manager Terry Francona said. "He just refused to give in and he gave us a chance against probably the best pitcher we've seen all year."
