Félix Hernández's perfect game

Félix Hernández

On August 15, 2012, Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners 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. 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,^[4] making it the first time that a team pitched a combined no-hitter and complete game no-hitter in the same season.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[4]

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

• List of Major League Baseball perfect games
• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

References

1. Stone, Larry (August 16, 2012). "Perfect! Mariners' Felix Hernandez throws perfect game". The Seattle Times (Seattletimes.nwsource.com). Retrieved August 15, 2012.
2. "MLB.com Gameday | MLB.com: Gameday". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
3. "Felix Hernandez pitches perfect game". Content.usatoday.com. November 28, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
4. Associated Press (August 15, 2012). "Felix Hernandez throws perfect game, overpowers Rays". ESPN.com.
5. "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.