by New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán secured his place in the history books Wednesday night when he pitched MLB’s first perfect game since 2012 and the league’s 24th overall.
The right-hander retired all of Oakland’s batters during an 11-0 road win over the A’s.
It was the first perfect game in the majors this year and the first in MLB since Seattle Mariners ace Félix Hernández accomplished the feat against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 15, 2012.
“So exciting,” Germán said after the game, through a translator. “When you think of something unique in baseball, not many people get the opportunity to pitch a perfect game. To achieve something like this in my career is something I’ll remember forever.”
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New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán threw MLB’s first perfect game since August 2012 on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Germán became the fourth Yankee to throw a perfect game, joining Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998) and David Cone (1999). Larsen’s performance notably came in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the then-Brooklyn Dodgers. It was the 13th no-hitter in Yankee history.
The Yankees became the first franchise with four perfect games, with the Chicago White Sox having three.
Germán also earned his 500th career strikeout during the contest.
His efficient performance included throwing 72 strikes on 99 pitches: 51 curveballs, 30 fastballs, 17 changeups and a sinker.
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He went to three balls on a batsman just twice.
Germán fell behind Ryan Noda 3-1 in the fourth and Jonah Bride by the same count in the eighth.
Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees also earned his 500th career strikeout during the contest. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Germán struck out Noda with back-to-back curveballs, and followed with three straight curveballs to Bride, the third resulting in a groundout.
“It was a lot of fun watching him do that and go to work. We’ve seen him flirt with outings like that over time,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, referring to Germán’s July 2021 no-hitter bet that he blew out in the eighth inning.
He added: “When he gets rolling like that, it’s a lot of fun to watch him at his trade because he’s so good at mastering all his pitches. His curveball was great tonight, but because his changeup and fastball were good too, he made that curveball even more special”.
The crowd of 12,479 was on its feet for the ninth inning as Germán looked to finish what he started.
Two quick outs left Germán one batter, Esteury Ruiz, getting in the way of the perfect game.
When Ruiz grounded out to third baseman Josh Donaldson, New York’s dugout and bullpen emptied, and Germán’s teammates rushed to the mound to celebrate.
“That last inning was very different, very different. I felt an amount of pressure that I had never felt before,” German said. “I’m trying to visualize what I want to run there. At the same time, I don’t want to miss out. So much pressure, but so rewarding.”
He added: “The key there was not to shoot down.”
After the contest, A’s leadoff hitter Tony Kemp said Germán’s curveball was the element that set everything else up.
“He threw that curveball on any count he wanted,” Kemp said. “He was spinning differently and moving differently. He put his fastball where he wanted it. He changed it up, too. He just mixed it up. He got a couple of good swings out of him, but he didn’t get results.”
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The perfect game came six days after Germán allowed a career-high 10 runs (eight earned) and four home runs in 3 1/3 innings in a loss to the Mariners at home.
“This hasn’t been an easy week or time for him,” Boone said. “For him to go out there and paint that masterpiece was really a lot of fun to watch.”
Giancarlo Stanton homered for the first time in more than two weeks and drove in three runs, and Donaldson added three RBIs against his former team.
The Yankees were winless in six previous outings against the A’s, who have the worst record in the majors at 21-61. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Higashioka had an RBI double, then scored when Anthony Volpe reached on an infield single and Sears threw the ball wildly into foul territory. Volpe took second on error, stole third, then scored on DJ LeMahieu’s single.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who led off the inning with a walk and scored, capped the rally with a two-out RBI single.
The Yankees were winless in six previous outings against the A’s, who have the worst record in the majors at 21-61. New York has won 15 of 21 games against the A’s since Aug. 31, 2019.
The contest marks a personal change for Germán, who after a successful 2019 season with the Yankees was placed on administrative leave late that season amid an MLB investigation into an alleged domestic violence incident involving his girlfriend.
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He then missed the entire pandemic-shortened 2020 season and playoffs while serving an 81-game suspension. He returned in February 2021.
Germán’s record game also came after a terrible pair of starts and after the 30-year-old pitcher served a 10-game suspension last month. He was previously ejected from a game in Toronto for using an illegal sticky substance on the mound.
“I’m happy for Domingo. He’s had a couple tough starts and he’s been dragging a little bit,” Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka said. “I always felt like anybody, he has a really good chance to do something like this and to have it all come together tonight is just amazing.”
Germán’s efficient performance included throwing 72 strikes on 99 pitches: 51 curveballs, 30 fastballs, 17 changeups and a sinker. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
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Fans apparently echoed Higashioka’s sentiments as Germán was cheered loudly throughout the contest, a much-needed boost two days after the pitcher experienced the death of a family member.
“Unfortunately, two days ago an uncle of mine passed away and yesterday I cried a lot in the dressing room. So I had him with me throughout the game. I was thinking about him,” said Germán. “This game is a tribute to him. I would have been so happy. He was always someone who really brought joy to our family and it just so happened that he saw it this way, from up there.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
