Félix Hernández's perfect game

On August 15, 2012, Seattle Mariners pitcher Félix Hernández pitched the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history and the first in Mariners' franchise history.[1] Pitching against the Tampa Bay Rays at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington, Hernández retired all 27 batters that he faced and tallied 12 strikeouts in a 1–0 victory.[2]

This was the third perfect game of the 2012 Major League Baseball season, following perfect games thrown by Philip Humber and Matt Cain,[3] marking the first time that three perfect games were thrown in one MLB season.[4] Also, as the Mariners were the losing team in Humber's perfect game, this was the first time that a team was on the losing and winning end of a perfect game in the same season.[1] As Philip Humber's perfect game took place when the White Sox were visiting Safeco Field, this marked the first time two perfect games were thrown in the same park in the same season. It was also the second time in 2012 that the Mariners had pitched a no-hitter at Safeco Field; they pitched a combined no-hitter on June 8, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers, also 1–0,[5] making it the first time that a team pitched a combined no-hitter and complete game no-hitter in the same season.[5] It also marked the third time the Tampa Bay Rays had been on the receiving end of a perfect game in four seasons, having previously failed to reach first base against Dallas Braden in 2010 and Mark Buehrle in 2009.[1] Evan Longoria, Carlos Peña, Melvin Upton, Jr. and Ben Zobrist all played for the Rays in all three games, tying Alfredo Griffin's dubious mark for most losing perfect games played in.

The game

Hernández threw 113 pitches, 77 of them strikes, striking out the side in the sixth and the eighth innings. Jeremy Hellickson, the starting pitcher for Tampa Bay, allowed one run in seven innings on a run batted in single by Jesús Montero in the third inning.[6] Rays manager Joe Maddon was ejected from the game in the seventh inning for arguing a called strike with the home plate umpire Rob Drake.[5]

Statistics

Linescore

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Tampa Bay Rays (63–54) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Seattle Mariners (55–64) 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 x 1 5 0
WP: Félix Hernández (11–5)   LP: Jeremy Hellickson (7–8)

Box score

Tampa Bay AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
Fuld, SamSam Fuld, LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 .262
Upton, B. J.B. J. Upton, CF 3 0 0 0 0 1 .243
Joyce, MattMatt Joyce, RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 .269
Longoria, EvanEvan Longoria, DH 3 0 0 0 0 2 .297
Zobrist, BenBen Zobrist, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 .257
Peña, CarlosCarlos Peña, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 .191
Lobaton, JoseJose Lobaton, C 2 0 0 0 0 1 .228
  Jennings, DesmondDesmond Jennings, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 .254
Johnson, ElliotElliot Johnson, SS 2 0 0 0 0 2 .245
  Keppinger, JeffJeff Keppinger, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .319
Rodriguez, SeanSean Rodriguez, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 2 .206
Tampa Bay IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hellickson, JeremyJeremy Hellickson, L (7–8) 7.0 5 1 1 1 1 0 3.39
Farnsworth, KyleKyle Farnsworth 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.95
Seattle AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
Ackley, DustinDustin Ackley, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 .225
Saunders, MichaelMichael Saunders, CF 4 0 0 0 0 0 .237
Montero, JesusJesus Montero, DH 4 0 1 1 0 1 .266
Jaso, JohnJohn Jaso, C 3 0 1 0 0 0 .286
Seager, KyleKyle Seager, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Smoak, JustinJustin Smoak, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 1 .189
Robinson, TrayvonTrayvon Robinson, LF 3 0 1 0 0 0 .227
Thames, EricEric Thames, RF 2 0 0 0 1 0 .234
Ryan, BrendanBrendan Ryan, SS 3 1 1 0 0 0 .199
Seattle IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Hernández, FélixFélix Hernández, W (11–5) 9 0 0 0 0 12 0 2.60

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stone, Larry (August 16, 2012). "Perfect! Mariners' Felix Hernandez throws perfect game". The Seattle Times. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  2. "Mariners 1, Rays 0". Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP. August 15, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  3. Tucker, Heather (August 15, 2012). "Felix Hernandez pitches perfect game". USA Today. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  4. Bahr, Chris (August 15, 2015). "Flashback: Mariners' King Felix pitches perfect game vs. Rays". Fox Sports. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Associated Press (August 15, 2012). "Felix Hernandez throws perfect game, overpowers Rays". ESPN.com.
  6. "Felix Hernandez pitches a perfect game | SI Tracking Blog – Tracking MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, and NCAA On Twitter". Tracking.si.com. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
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