Perfect Game Almost Unraveled

Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez was working on a perfect game through seven innings against the Athletics in Sacramento’s Sutter Health Park. The 21-year-old pitcher had an incredible outing, striking out eight batters and inducing seven groundouts. Pérez only gave up hard contact three times, with two of those being groundouts and the other a routine fly ball.

However, the perfect game was not meant to be. After Pérez threw 92 pitches, he was lifted by manager Clayton McCullough and lefty Lake Bachar took over for the eighth inning. The fans on hand were vocal in their displeasure with the visiting Marlins pulling a pitcher working on a perfecto, and a group led a chant of ‘SHAME!’ directed at the dugout.

Perfect Game Blown in the Eighth

Bachar proceeded to walk the first batter he saw, ruining the perfect game. Then he gave up a single, and a run. Before the Marlins’ bullpen recorded an out, the perfect game, no-hitter, and shutout were blown in perfect succession.

The A’s went on to score five runs off Bachar without him recording a single out. It was a crushing blow for the Marlins, who were just one out away from a historic perfect game.

Despite the heartbreak, the Marlins would go on to prevail, 9-8, after closer Pete Fairbanks teetered on disaster in the ninth inning.

Manager Clayton McCullough’s Decision

Manager Clayton McCullough explained his decision to pull Pérez after seven innings, citing a pitch count of 90 plus a batter as a factor. ‘Going into this game, 90 plus a batter was a pitch count that I felt comfortable with him coming back off the time on the IL and us looking to play beyond the season,’ McCullough said.

‘Eury’s gonna be an important part of that. Yeah, he had it really going today and I totally get it. There was a part of my heartstrings pulling at his opportunity to keep going, but I have to think about Eury, one, and our organization, our team, and what’s best moving forward and giving us a chance to win games. I made a calculated decision of where he was with his pitch count.’

Marlins’ No-Hitter History

The Marlins have thrown six no-hitters but never a perfect game as a franchise, which debuted in 1993. Overall, there have been 24 perfect games in MLB history and 327 no-hitters. The Marlins were looking to become the first team ever with a combined perfect game.

The six Marlins pitchers to throw a no-hitter were Al Leiter (1996), Kevin Brown (1997), A.J. Burnett (2001), Anibal Sánchez (2006), Henderson Alvarez (2013), and Edinson Volquez (2017).