MLB: Red Sox Clay Buchholz to miss Yankees

BOSTON -- Clay Buchholz is going to be pushed back in the Red Sox rotation because of a sore back, meaning he'll miss this week's series against the Yankees at New York.

Tim Wakefield will take Buchholz's scheduled start against the Yankees on Wednesday night.Instead of pitching in his regular turn Wednesday night in Yankee Stadium, Buchholz will be pushed back to Friday night in Toronto.

Buchholz has had a sore back for a little while, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said in his pregame meeting with the media. In his last start, Wednesday against the White Sox, Buchholz was tagged for eight hits and six runs, five of them earned, in only 4 2/3 innings.

"It hasn't interfered with his pitching, but he wasn't quite reaching," Francona said, meaning Buchholz wasn't extending to the fullest in his delivery. "Buck owned up to it. He said it [his back] didn't hurt, but he thought it would hurt [if he extended].

"So we'll give him two extra days, let him start his five-day cycle two days late," said Francona. "It makes sense. I know he wanted to pitch in New York. It's a great place to pitch, a great atmosphere. But he knows this is in his best interests."

Buchholz is 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA this season.

MLB: Derek Jeter exits with sore hip

DETROIT -- Derek Jeter left Wednesday night's New York Yankees-Detroit Tigers game after 7½ innings and it is not sure whether he will be able to play in Thursday afternoon's series finale.

And yet, Jeter insists he is not injured, can't -- or won't -- say when whatever it is that happened to him actually happened, and couldn't even explain how his manager knew he needed to come out of the game.

"You'll have to ask him," Jeter said.

But when it was pointed out to Jeter that manager Joe Girardi apparently was not wrong when he sent Eduardo Nunez out to play shortstop in his place for the bottom of the eighth, Jeter agreed. "No," he said. "He wasn't wrong."

According to Girardi, Jeter's right hip "was grabbing at him a little bit," something the manager noticed as the 36-year-old shortstop ran out a flyout in the top of the eighth of the Yankees 4-0 loss.

"It happened at some point tonight, and I saw it when he ran to first, so I took him out," Girardi said. "He told me it was bothering him."

"It's not hurt," Jeter said. "I mean, seriously, it's not that big of an issue. I played with it. I didn't say anything about it. It's just stiff."

Jeter lined a single in his first at-bat of the game but went hitless in his next three at-bats, and did not appear to be impeded in the field. Still, Girardi had seen enough to take him out of the game after his final at-bat.

"I didn't tell him anything," Jeter said. "I don't know how he found out."

Found out what? "I don't know," Jeter said. "It's not an injury. I didn't do it on a particular play. It's just something that happens over the course of a season. It really is not a big deal."

With the quick turnaround between the end of Wednesday night's game and the beginning of Thursday's matinee, Girardi would not commit to playing Jeter in the series finale.

"He'll be day to day," Girardi said. "I'll make up my lineup tomorrow."

Asked if he was playing on Thursday, Jeter -- who missed only five games last season and has played all but one so far this season -- said, simply, "Yes."

Then he walked out of the clubhouse. Without a limp.

MLB: Brian Sabean mum on trade report of Reyes

San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean did not want to discuss a report stating that the Giants have had internal discussions about acquiring New York Metsshortstop Jose Reyes.

"I can't respond to that. Honestly, I haven't seen or talked to Sandy Alderson since January ... I haven't talked to anybody from the Mets so I have no idea where the hell it came from," Sabean said prior to the Mets-Giants game. "So typical of today's world, I guess we're playing in New York and our shortstop [Miguel Tejada] isn't playing too well and [Reyes] is a free agent to be. It's connect-your-dots, so there's nothing to talk about. Talk to the clown from CBS or whatever outlet [expletive] came up with it."

A major league source told CSNBayArea.com Tuesday that the Giants have had internal discussions about acquiring Reyes, who becomes a free agent after this season.

They have the need, because third basemanPablo Sandoval is out for about seven weeks due to hand surgery; Tejada has moved from shortstop to third; and Fontenot, a utility man, is playing short. Mark DeRosa is supposed to be Sandoval's backup, but he's also shelved with a wrist injury.

The Mets, meanwhile, have financial woes, in part due to the lawsuit brought by the trustee for the victims of the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme.

The Mets' ownership group is trying to sell a minority stake in the team to raise capital. High-priced players such as Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran very well could be shopped to contenders up to the trading deadline.

The Giants are treading water at 14-15 and are four games behind the Rockies in the NL West. They are 27th in the league in runs scored and 23rd in stolen bases.

Despite Reyes batting .325 with 19 runs scored and 11 steals, the Mets are last in the NL East, 7½ games behind the Phillies.

Reyes said before Wednesday's game that he hadn't heard of the report and that he was focused on staying productive for the Mets, who had lost four of five entering Wednesday's game.

"I don't know about that, I don't know. Like I said, I'm still a New York Met, so whatever happens, happens. I just want to play baseball," Reyes said.

The shortstop later added: "The only thing I can control right now is playing baseball, do what I do on the field. So the other stuff I can't control. I just need to stay focused and continue doing what I do."

The rumors surrounding the 27-year-old Reyes will only intensify as baseball's July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches.

Reyes said he is not bothered by the speculation.

"I don't think about that kind of stuff. The rumor stuff. I just want to continue to play better because I know there's still things to improve," said Reyes, who added that he had not heard from his agent about any interest from other teams. "... That's my main thing right now. I can't control the other stuff that people say. Whatever happens, happens."

It's not clear, however, what the Giants would be willing to give up for a player they might not be able to re-sign. Reyes will be one of the top free agents this offseason.

MLB: Francisco Liriano throws seventh no-hitter in Twins franchise history

CHICAGO -- Francisco Liriano's 123rd pitch of the night headed to the plate, and Adam Dunn turned on it.

The ball streaked toward the left side of the infield. For an instant, it appeared Liriano's no-hit bid might be shattered with one out to go.

Shortstop Matt Tolbert took two steps to his right, gloved the liner, spun around and raised the ball in triumph with his bare hand. Then he sprinted to the mound, where the pitcher was being mobbed by teammates, to personally deliver the prize.

On a cold night at U.S. Cellular Field, Liriano wiped away the memory of all those shaky outings this season, pitching a no-hitter that led the Minnesota Twins over the Chicago White Sox 1-0 Tuesday.

"It was a crazy night," said Liriano, who might have been pitching to save his spot in the rotation following a 1-4 start with a 9.13 ERA coming in.

"When I go out there I try to think positive," he said. "I don't want to think about, 'They're going to put me in the bullpen.' I just try to do my best."

Liriano's The One

Francisco Liriano became the fifth pitcher to toss a no-hitter in a 1-0 win over the last 20 seasons, joining Edwin Jackson and Roy Halladay, who both accomplished the feat last season.

	Season	Team
Francisco Liriano	2011	Twins
Edwin Jackson	2010	Diamondbacks
Roy Halladay	2010	Phillies
Kevin Millwood	2003	Phillies
Jose Jimenez	1999	Cardinals

  -- ESPN Stats & Information

Liriano was running low on energy in the final innings, even as his pitches were still baffling the hapless White Sox and pressure mounted.

With the no-hitter within reach and his pitch count climbing, he relied on defense to help him finish.

"To be honest I was running out of gas," he said. "I just thank my teammates that they made some great plays behind me tonight."

Liriano (2-4) walked six and struck out two in his first complete game in 95 major league starts. The 27-year-old left-hander, who reached the big leagues in 2005, matched his career high with 123 pitches.

"I can't explain it. I feel so nervous and so happy right now," Liriano said.

He survived a rocky ninth inning that began when Brent Morel grounded to shortstop and Tolbert made a one-hop throw that first baseman Justin Morneau scooped. Juan Pierre walked andAlexei Ramirez popped to shortstop.

Liriano fell behind Dunn 3-0 in the count, then got a pair of strikes. After a foul ball, Dunn followed with perhaps the hardest-hit ball off Liriano all night.

Dominican Dominance

Liriano's no-hitter is the fifth by a pitcher from the Dominican Republic. That's the most no-hitters by a country other than the United States.

Countries with Multiple No-Hitters
Other than United States

Dominican Republic	5	(Juan Marichal, Ramon Martinez, Jose Jimenez, Ubaldo Jimenez, Francisco Liriano)
Venezuela	3	(Wilson Alvarez, Anibal Sanchez, Carlos Zambrano)
Ireland	2	(Tony Mullane, One Arm Daily)
Japan	2	(Hideo Nomo with 2)
Puerto Rico	2	(Juan Nieves, Jonathan Sanchez)

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"I thought it was a base hit," Liriano said. "When I saw him catch it, I was so excited."

Dunn dropped to 0 for 16 against left-handers this season.

"As soon as I hit it, I saw him, and it was right to him," Dunn said. "That's pretty much the story of the day. There were some balls that, again, they made some great defensive plays."

For Tolbert it was the end of an unforgettable experience. He got the start at shortstop as the Twins moved Alexi Casilla to second base.

"I was excited and a little nervous. It's not every day that you get to play behind a no-hitter," Tolbert said. "I was thinking somehow we had to get this guy [Dunn] out. I know he's so dangerous. I was playing him up the middle a little bit, and he hit it in the right spot."

Liriano, the reigning AL comeback player of the year, was backed by Jason Kubel's fourth-inning homer. He threw just 66 pitches for strikes but kept Chicago off-balance in a game that took just 2 hours, 9 minutes.

In his previous start, he lasted three innings in an 8-2 loss to Tampa Bay. The shutout lowered his ERA for the season to 6.61.

No-Hitters

Francisco Liriano has thrown the first MLB no-hitter of 2011. Read all about the no-hitter, complete with facts and figures from ESPN's Stats & Information Department. Full Profile »

Liriano, 3-0 against the White Sox last season, walked Pierre leading off the first and Carlos Quentinwith one out in the second, but both were erased on double plays. Chicago put two on in the fourth, and center fielder Denard Spanraced into left-center to grab Quentin's long drive.

With two outs in the seventh, third baseman Danny Valencia went behind the bag and into foul territory to grab Quentin's hard hopper and then made a strong throw to first.

Minnesota turned its third double play in the eighth, when Morneau took an offline throw from second baseman Casilla and umpire Paul Emmel calledGordon Beckham out -- replays appeared to show Morneau missed the tag.

"I haven't looked at replay, but he said he tagged me on the shoulder," Beckham said. "I didn't feel him tagging me on the shoulder."

Ramirez hit two of the hardest balls off Liriano. He lined out to third in the first and sent a liner foul past third in the sixth.

Edwin Jackson (2-4) lost his fourth straight start despite allowing six hits in eight innings. Then with Arizona, Jackson no-hit Tampa Bay last June 26 despite walking eight.

It was the seventh no-hitter for the Twins-Washington Senators franchise and the first since Eric Milton's against the Angels on Sept. 11, 1999. It was the first no-hitter in the major leagues since Philadelphia's Roy Halladay's against Cincinnati in last year's NL Division Series.

The White Sox were no-hit for the 13th time, the first since they were beaten by Kansas City's Bret Saberhagen on Aug. 26, 1991.

Liriano was acquired in 2003 in the famously lopsided trade that also broughtJoe Nathan to Minnesota in exchange for A.J. Pierzynski.

He burst onto the scene in 2006, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and dominating overmatched hitters with an untouchable slider. But the violent delivery caused him to develop arm problems toward the end of that season and had elbow-ligament replacement surgery that November.

His road back has been a long and difficult one. He missed all of 2007, then struggled to regain his form over the next two years, leading some to wonder if he ever would make it all the way back after going 5-13 with a 5.80 ERA in 2009.

Jackson understood the pressure Liriano was feeling in the final inning.

"It's definitely one of those things. One hit away. One hit can be a great day or one hit can be an almost day," Jackson said. "He made his pitches when he needed to. He was great."

Game notes
Twins DH Jim Thome was put on the 15-day DL with a left oblique strain, and Minnesota will recall INF Trevor Plouffe from Triple-A Rochester. ... Seven players with batting averages under .200 started the game -- four for the Twins and three for the White Sox.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press