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Jon Lester, at the tender age of 24, is the latest young gun to toss a no-hitter.

YOUTH IS SERVED

By David Bearman, ESPN Research

Jon Lester is the second Red Sox youngster to throw a no-hitter. Lester, who turned 24 in January, threw a no-hitter just eight months after teammate Clay Buchholz threw one just 18 days after his 23rd birthday. The youth movement doesn't stop in Boston. Justin Verlander (24 years old) threw a no-hitter for the Tigers 2½ months before Buchholz. Two no-hitters earlier, 23-year-old Anibal Sanchez tossed one for the Marlins against the Diamondbacks.

For those counting at home, that's three straight no-hitters by pitchers younger than 25, and four in the past five (the White Sox's Mark Buehrle was 28 years old). The last time three straight players younger than 25 tossed no-hitters was in 1969, when Don Wilson (24), Jim Palmer (23), Ken Holtzman (23) and Bob Moose (21) all threw no-hitters. That was the only time in the modern era (since 1900) that four consecutive no-hitters were thrown by players younger than 25 years old. Three straight also were thrown by players younger than 25 from 1931 to 1934, the only other time in the modern era.

Last five no-hitters
Year	Pitcher	Age (Years-Days)
2008	Jon Lester	24-133
2007	Clay Buchholz	23-18
2007	Justin Verlander	24-112
2007	Mark Buehrle	28-26
2006	Anibal Sanchez	22-191

Thanks to Lester and Buchholz, the Red Sox are the owners of the majors' past two no-hitters. The last time that happened was in 1974-75, when the Angels' Nolan Ryan threw two of his seven career no-hitters.

Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek has caught both of these past two no-hitters. He has been behind the plate for four in his career (including Hideo Nomo in 2001 and Derek Lowe in 2002), becoming the first catcher in baseball history to catch four no-hitters.

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DIFFERENT STYLES, SIMILAR RESULTS

By Orel Hershiser, ESPN

In the past 10 games, there haven't been two hotter hitters than the Cubs' Alfonso Soriano and Houston's Lance Berkman. Both are catalysts for their respective teams, yet they do it in very different ways.

Soriano is an unbelievably talented player who has the ability to hit for power and average. Defensively, he's made the adjustment to left field and has a good arm. (He's lost a little bit in the running game and doesn't steal bases like he used to, though.) There's never been a question of his talent, but the infuriating thing about Soriano has been his lack of discipline at the plate. Soriano is a streaky hitter, and right now he's swinging a hot bat. But when things aren't going well, his answer for getting out of a slump is to keep swinging. Soriano admits he needs to be more disciplined at the plate, and that's one area in which Kosuke Fukudome has had an impact on the Cubs. Fukudome's discipline at the plate (4.33 pitches per at-bat) has rubbed off on his teammates, including Soriano to a certain extent.

The Cubs have done a nice job adjusting to Soriano's desire to hit leadoff. (He wants to hit first and thinks it's the only place in the lineup at which he will produce.) Though he isn't the ideal leadoff hitter, the Cubs need both to keep Soriano happy and to get value out of the huge contract they gave him after the 2006 season. Soriano begrudgingly moved to left field last season, and that's worked out just fine, so some think he'd eventually adjust to a move in the batting order if the Cubs ever decide to move him from the top of the lineup.

Berkman is completely different in that he gets infuriated with himself because he thinks he should hit like this all the time. When you watch Soriano play, his ability is clear. Berkman's ability is hidden, more subtle. He doesn't have the prototypical athletic body and he's not graceful, and that's hard to say about a world-class hitter. However, Berkman's hand-eye coordination is impeccable, and he has all the intangibles of a great hitter. He understands pitchers and can put a good swing on the ball on so many different types of pitches. And though his long and sweeping swing is exactly what you would expect from someone who hits for power and average, Berkman manages to make it work.

Soriano and Berkman are different players hitting in different parts of the lineup for their respective teams. At the end of the season, though, Soriano and Berkman will have similar offensive numbers.

FORWARD THINKING: TUESDAY

•  Angels at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. ET: John Lackey (0-0, 1.29 ERA) was strong in his season debut, permitting one run and six hits in a no-decision against the White Sox. Roy Halladay (4-5, 3.38 ERA) is back where he belongs -- starting. He came out of the bullpen after two rain delays in Philadelphia to pitch 2 1/3 innings, his first relief effort since 2001.

•  Mets at Braves, 1:05 p.m. ET: Tom Glavine (1-1, 4.41 ERA) goes up against his previous team in the first game of the split doubleheader. Glavine is having a hard time getting used to being back in Atlanta -- teams are hitting .378 against him at Turner Field as opposed to .236 when he pitches on the road. John Maine (5-2, 2.81 ERA) already has faced the Braves twice this season, losing once and winning once.

• Orioles at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. ET: After struggling with his control early in the season, Daniel Cabrera (4-1, 3.58 ERA) has issued just three walks over his past three outings. Mike Mussina has shown improvement in his past five starts. He gave up at least one homer in each of his first five starts this season but hasn't allowed a single on over his past four.

• Complete list of pitching probables for Tuesday's games