Herald-Sun correspondent
DURHAM -- Former National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy took the mound at Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the Charlotte Knights on Tuesday, his second rehab start with the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
Peavy struggled, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, but Bulls starter Wade Davis took a no-hitter into the sixth inning en route to earning his 10th win, a 5-3 Bulls victory.
Bulls batters swung early and often against Peavy, the 2007 Cy Young winner, getting four hits on him during the first time through the lineup.
"When hitters in the minor leagues see guys like that, you want to hit him. You don't want to walk," Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo said. "That's just the way it goes. I think at the lower levels, you give these guys more credit.
"But at this level, most of them are playing in the big leagues."
The Bulls wasted no time getting runs on the board, as first baseman Chris Richard drove in Akinori Iwamura and Justin Ruggiano on a two-out, broken-bat single in the first. Peavy only allowed one more hit after his first time through the lineup, though it was a solo homer by Joe Dillon in the third inning.
"That's usually how it happens against guys in rehab," Montoyo said. "And then they realize, 'OK, hold on now. These guys are swinging.' And that's what he did. He made an adjustment, and then he pitched better."
Adding one run in each of the second, fourth and fifth innings, the Bulls had a 5-0 lead before Davis had given up his first hit.
Peavy's injured ankle held up well, and outside of letting a 3-6-1 double-play ball slide through his glove -- allowing Jon Weber to score from second -- his mobility and defensive work were solid.
His ability to find the strike zone, however, was a different story.
"If anybody watched the game, the ankle is a non-issue, running around no problem, no pain," Peavy said. "When I turned the dial up, tried to throw good, hard, sharp cutters and fastballs, the command and velocity were just not where they're going to be."
Davis got a lot of help in the fifth from the Durham defense. Truth be told, the Knights had every right to two hits in the inning, but a pirouetting putout from Ray Olmedo at shortstop and a diving catch by right fielder Matt Joyce preserved Davis' hitless effort for one more inning.
"That's what makes no-hitters happen, one or two good plays," Bulls closer Dale Thayer said. "From that, you thought maybe it could happen. We got some good plays."
The defense gave their pitcher no such out-of-this-world help in the sixth, and the Knights picked up three runs on a single and two doubles -- the first on Davis' very first pitch of the frame.
But outside of the Knights' three-hit sixth inning, not one base knock made its way into Davis' domain. The final line on Davis read 7 2/3 innings, three hits, two runs, three walks and four strikeouts. And he did it all with just 87 pitches.
"That's all we wanted from him," Thayer said. "You like seeing punchouts and throwing hard. But we wanted him to keep his pitch count down so he can go as deep as he can in the game."
Davis, who has two low-A no-hitters to his credit, gave Durham a much-needed long and steady start, with only Thayer making the trot from the bullpen to the mound.
"I didn't have anybody [except for Thayer] at all," Montoyo said. "I could have used [reliever Winston] Abreu, but he was limited."
After allowing a couple of singles in the ninth inning, Thayer retired former Bull Andy Cannizaro on a fielder's choice to second base to end the Knights' threat and earn his 17th save of the season.
The Knights return to Durham tonight at 7:05 for Game Two of the four-game series with Charlotte's Daniel Hudson taking on the Bulls' Andy Sonnanstine.
