Josh Beckett struck out eight Tigers hitters on Wednesday night.

MCT photo / Detroit Free Press, Kirthmon F. Dozier

DETROIT — Josh Beckett hadn't allowed a hit through 6 2/3 innings Wednesday night, and at that point you probably could have gotten pretty good odds that he was going to become the third Red Sox pitcher in three years to author a no-hitter.

"It felt like he was going to throw a no-hitter," said second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "He had no-hit stuff. He dominated."

The Tigers had made very little good contact against the Boston ace, popping out or striking out regularly. Beckett really only had one close call: A bunt attempt by Gerald Laird up the third-base line in the sixth inning that ran foul.

But, in the end, Beckett was unable to follow Jon Lester (2008) and Clay Buchholz (2007) into the record books. Curtis Granderson grounded a hard single through the right side with two outs in the seventh, breaking up the no-hit bid. Beckett got out of that inning, then had to wait nearly half-an-hour as the Sox tacked on six runs in the top of the eighth, turning a 4-0 lead into a 10-0 advantage. He'd lost his edge when he retook the mound and wound up surrendering three unearned runs in an ugly, three-error, five-runs-allowed inning by the Sox in the bottom of the eighth, but still got the win as Boston prevailed, 10-5, for its third straight victory.

Even though the final line — he struck out eight, gave up three unearned runs on two hits, allowed three walks, and hit a batter in 7 2/3 innings as he raised his record to 6-2 — was still impressive, it didn't accurately reflect how dominating he was.

"He was confident in his delivery," said manager Terry Francona. "He wasn't muscling it all that much. He was really fun to watch."

Beckett owned the inside part of the plate, and threw his fastball for consistent first-pitch strikes. His curveball was nasty, allowing him to pile up five called strikeouts.

And as the game progressed, he admitted — sort of — he was thinking no-hitter.

"Yeah," he answered when asked if he was aware of the no-hitter. "Well, I mean, I don't know. I was trying to stay pitch to pitch. I was trying to get outs."

His confusion may stem from the fact that he's never really flirted with a no-hitter before.

"I think I took one into the second [inning] one time before this," he joked. "I don't know, but it wasn't very deep [into the game]."

Meanwhile, the Boston bats did their job, the third straight game they have turned in a strong offensive performance since Francona juggled the batting order Sunday

The first two Boston runs came in the first inning, in a manner that is becoming all too familiar since Pedroia took over the top spot. He led off the game by getting on base, and J.D. Drew drove him in, this time with a 400-foot home run to right field.

The next pair of runs scored in the fourth. Jacoby Ellsbury reached first and scored on a Nick Green double, and Pedroia lanced a hit past third baseman Miguel Cabrera to send Green careening home.

But as Green rounded third base, pitcher Armando Galarraga stood in Green's path. Green appeared to try to push him out of the way, stumble, and lose his batting helmet a third of the way to home plate. He recovered, and tried to get home, but Green was thrown out at home by a large margin.

The umpires called obstruction on Galarraga, charging that he prevented Green from reaching the plate safely. The umpires gave Galarraga an error, and awarded Green a free path home for an automatic run and a 4-0 Sox lead.

Boston scored six more in the top of the eighth, with the highlight being a David Ortiz two-run double.

By that time, the no-hit drama was over. Francona, for one, wasn't surprised.

"For something special like that to happen," he said, "you gotta be good and you gotta be lucky."

Beckett was plenty good enough, but his luck ran out when Granderson singled.

With the game decided, the Tigers picked up five runs in the bottom of the eighth, chasing Beckett after errors by Pedroia, Green, and Mike Lowell. Also notable during the inning: Beckett drilling Laird, possibly in retaliation for the slow-footed catcher attempting to break up the no-hitter with a bunt two innings earlier.

The glow of the no-hitter was nearly lost when Kevin Youkilis had to leave the game in the bottom of the eighth after his ankle was run over as he stretched to make a catch on the play where Green was called for an error. But word in the locker room after the game was that Youkilis was fine, that he'd been stepped on and not spiked and should be able to play Thursday afternoon in the series finale.

dbarbari@projo.com