Bedard's 1st Complete Game Is a 2-Hit Gem; O's Ace Strikes Out 15

ARLINGTON, Tex., July 7 -- About three weeks ago, Erik Bedard threw in the Baltimore Orioles bullpen between starts as Leo Mazzone watched. Suddenly, the pitching coach posed a question to his ace: Had Bedard ever thrown a complete game? He answered, correctly, no.

"Well," Mazzone said, "we're getting to that point where it's about time."

"Okay," Bedard said and shrugged his shoulders. He treats most challenges with such nonchalance, but only on the exterior. On Saturday night, he proved how competitive -- and how great -- he can be. In a 3-0 victory, Bedard threw a two-hitter, facing the minimum 27 Texas Rangers, both hits being erased by double plays. Bedard struck out a career-high 15, tying the team record.

In his final start before the all-star break, Bedard cemented his status as the Orioles' unquestioned ace and as one of the baseball's best pitchers, no matter his exclusion from Tuesday's showcase. He extended his major league-leading strikeout total to 149 and dominated almost as thoroughly as a pitcher possibly can during one stretch, striking out 10 of 12 batters.

"That's with some of the all-time great ones I've had the privilege of witnessing," said Mazzone, who stewarded some of the best pitching staffs of this generation with the Atlanta Braves. "Twenty-seven up, 27 down. That's a two-hit perfect game."

Before the bottom of the ninth, Bedard emerged from the tunnel, from where he always watches his team bat, hopped up the dugout steps and slowly made a walk he had never made before. Then he finished off what he considered the finest start of his burgeoning career in the same cold-blooded manner with which he treated the Rangers all night.

He struck out the final three batters he faced, reaching 97 mph on the ballpark radar gun. On his 109th and final pitch, he zipped a 93-mph fastball over the outside corner, freezing Travis Metcalf for the final out.

"It's as good a night as I've ever seen a pitcher throw," said Jay Gibbons, who mashed a solo home run. "I've never seen so many bad swings in my life. Guys didn't have a chance tonight."

Said interim manager Dave Trembley: "Never seen anything like that before. He'll probably tell you that it's just another game, because that's the way he treats things."

And that's what Bedard did.

"We won," he said. "That's the bottom line. If I throw a complete game, I throw a complete game. If I don't, I don't."

It apparently didn't matter to Bedard that only four balls traveled to the outfield. ("For the most part, I was useless out there," left fielder Jay Payton said.)