BOSTON — The excitement and the postgame cheers were all for Boston Red Sox rookie right-hander Clay Buchholz after the 23-year-old had tossed a no-hitter in only his second big-league start.

But there was a “save” last night, too. And it belonged to diminutive second baseman Dustin Pedroia, whose diving base hit-robbing play on Miguel Tejada’s hard grounder up the middle in the seventh inning kept alive Buchholz’s bid for the gem.

Pedroia snared the ball on the backhand, the ball almost past him when it settled into his glove. Then he got up and sizzled a throw to first baseman Kevin Youkilis for the out that left Tejada waving his hands in frustration and irritation at Pedroia.

“I thought he had no chance,” said Boston center fielder Coco Crisp. “I thought the ball was by him. I thought it was coming to me. That was one of the most exciting plays of the game.”

There was no doubt in Pedroia’s mind that, especially given the circumstances, he’d be diving for the ball.

“I was playing Miguel straight up, but I got a good jump on the ball, got it, popped up as fast as I could and threw the ball as hard as I could,” said Pedroia.

“(Tejada) was mad he got robbed of a hit,” said Youkilis.

Tejada couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

“I thought it was going past him,” said Tejada. “He made a great play. That’s the key to throwing a no-hitter, plays like that.”

There were other solid plays by the Sox, too, with outfielders Crisp and rookie Brandon Moss running down a few balls.

“As the game went on, the level of play was elevated,” said bench coach Brad Mills. “The guys were really getting into it. It was really exciting as the game went into the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.”

It also was a tad nerve-wracking.

“I was fine until the last couple of outs and then my legs started shaking,” said Crisp, who said he had been part of only one previous no-hitter — one he pitched in Little League.

“It was like in Oakland with (Curt) Schilling (who came within one out of a no-no),” he said. “For (Buchholz) to finish off this game with a strikeout (called third strike on Nick Markakis), facing the top of their order in the last inning, was great. They’ve got some good hitters over there. They’re no slouches offensively. But he had great focus and composure.”

The fact Buchholz was able to command three pitches — fastball, curveball and changeup — made him especially tough to hit.

“As the game went on, as a hitter, you want to be the guy to break up the no-hitter. It was fun, in a sense. You take it as a challenge,” said Corey Patterson, who had two hard-hit drives run down by Crisp.

That challenge lasted right down to Markakis as Buchholz’s pitch count was getting dangerously close to getting him pulled from the game, no-hitter or not.

But when he dropped a 1-and-2 curveball over the plate that froze Markakis, it was all over — though not immediately, said Pedroia.

“He (plate umpire Joe West) gave it kind of a delayed call,” said Pedroia. “I started to run off the field and stopped, but when he finally called it strike three, I was relieved. I was pretty nervous for (Buchholz).”

The final out prompted a celebration on the field near home plate, where Buchholz was mobbed by his teammates.

“This is number one for me. This was the funnest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” said Pedroia.

skrasner@projo.com