OAKLAND, Calif. — Tim Wakefield took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on a day when the Red Sox desperately needed a strong start from their 42-year-old knuckleballer and finished with a four-hitter Wednesday in Boston's slump-snapping 8-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

Wakefield (1-1) got within five outs of the first no-hitter of his 17-season major league career, nearly becoming the second-oldest pitcher to accomplish the feat after Nolan Ryan.

Kurt Suzuki broke it up with a one-out single to left for the A's, and Landon Powell had an RBI single later in the inning. Wakefield gave up Matt Holliday's run-scoring double in the ninth, but escaped one last jam before getting hugs and congratulations from each of his teammates.

Mike Lowell hit a two-run homer in the second inning, and J.D. Drew added a three-run drive during the six-run eighth for the Red Sox, who had lost six of seven during their worst start since 1996.

With the offense struggling and the bullpen depleted, Wakefield was at his best. Boston slumped to a 2-6 start Tuesday night with a 6-5 loss in which starter Daisuke Matsuzaka couldn't make it to the second inning, forcing six relievers to work into the 12th in frigid Oakland temperatures.

Although Wakefield has been a dependable member of Boston's rotation since 1995, he has never allowed fewer than three hits in a complete game. He also didn't pitch particularly well down the stretch last season during the Red Sox's run to the AL championship series, failing to get out of the third inning of Game 4 against Tampa Bay.

Rarely cracking 70 mph on the Coliseum radar gun, Wakefield retired Oakland's first 15 hitters, mostly on harmless grounders and popups. Suzuki reached first on an error by Lowell at third base to open the sixth, but Wakefield easily got out of the inning.

But Wakefield walked Mark Ellis to open the eighth, and Suzuki rapped a single to left. Fans of both teams gave a loud ovation to the knuckleballer, who stranded two A's on base moments later.

Wakefield hadn't won in Oakland since September 1999, a span of seven games and five starts — yet he nearly became the first knuckleballer to throw a no-hitter since Hoyt Wilhelm did it in 1958. It was Wakefield's first complete game since last May.

Wakefield's brilliance overshadowed Brett Anderson (0-2), Oakland's 21-year-old rookie left-hander. He looked sharp in just his second major league appearance, allowing just five hits and two walks through seven innings.

Before the game, Boston put Matsuzaka on the 15-day disabled list with a mild right shoulder strain. Matsuzaka has struggled in two starts this season after winning three games and the MVP award at the World Baseball Classic.

Lowell connected for his second homer of the season after Jason Bay's two-out single in the second. Lowell's fly landed on the shelf above the left-field scoreboard that divides the stands from the field, getting out of the park by a few inches.

Orlando Cabrera and Jack Cust both came close to getting hits for Oakland in the seventh, but Boston's defense rescued Wakefield. Drew made a running grab of Cabrera's drive to the outfield, and Nick Green made a twisting leap to snag Cust's bloop to shallow center.

After David Ortiz hit an eighth-inning double for his first extra-base hit of the season, Drew put his second homer of the season deep into the right field stands. Green and Jacoby Ellsbury hit run-scoring singles later in the eighth.

Notes: Boston RHP John Smoltz and OF Mark Kotsay are headed to extended spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., to begin their injury comebacks. Smoltz is to throw to live hitters for the first time Saturday. ... Boston manager Terry Francona also said SS Julio Lugo could rejoin the Red Sox next week. He hasn't played this season after right knee surgery. ... Anderson, who lost his major league debut against Seattle last Friday, pitched for the U.S. team at the Beijing Olympics.