BOSTON — Jason Varitek was sitting in front of his locker, patiently answering a reporter’s questions after Jon Lester’s no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals last night, when Tim Wakefield interrupted.

“How do you do it?” wondered Wakefield.

Varitek knew exactly to what the knuckleballer was referring — last night was the fourth time in the last eight years that Varitek had been behind the plate for a Red Sox no-hitter.

He was there in 2001 for Hideo Nomo; in 2002 for Derek Lowe; last Sept. 1 for Clay Buchholz and last night for Lester.

Said a sheepish Varitek, shaking his head in wonderment: “I don’t know.”

No catcher in major-league history had caught four no-hitters until last night.

“I’m very fortunate,” he said. “It’s exciting to be part of one as a catcher. Each one is so different. Each one has been totally different, but Jonny [Lester] keeps working to become more complete.”

Varitek didn’t realize that he and his batterymate were on their way to make history until the eighth inning.

“I looked up in the seventh,” he recalled, “and saw that he was around 100 pitches and he had done his job. I glanced at the bullpen and saw nobody warming up and I thought that was weird. I looked back (at the scoreboard) and saw (the no-hitter in progress). It was good.”

If anyone could relate to Jon Lester last night — a young pitcher attempting to finish off a no-hitter — it was Clay Buchholz.

Last Sept. 1, in just his second major-league start, Buchholz earned a no-hitter. Memories of that night kept recurring for Buchholz , as he watched from the dugout last night.

“You get that adrenaline going in the last few innings,” recounted Buchholz.

Buchholz said he had a premonition when Jacoby Ellsbury made a terrific diving catch in the fourth to rob Jose Guillen of a hit.

“Right when that play was made,” said Buchholz, “I thought something special was going to happen — a no-hitter, a complete-game shutout, something.”

Observing baseball protocol, Buchholz didn’t say anything to Lester as the night progressed.

“He looked a little nervous going out for the ninth,” said Buchholz. “It’s a different feeling for everybody.”

smcadam@projo.com