Pinstripe Perfecto! Domingo Germán Slings 24th Ever Perfect Game
Domingo Germán acknowledges the crowd at the Oakland Coliseum after his perfect game. (Getty Images)
Domingo Germán secured his spot in baseball history on Wednesday night, retiring all 27 batters he faced and becoming the first player to throw a perfect game since Félix Hernández in 2012. Germán was rocked in his prior 2 outings, giving up 15 earned runs in just 5.1 innings between the two games. However, he more than made up for it as he threw the league’s 24th ever perfect game.
Just two days before his perfect game, Germán mourned the death of his uncle. Fittingly, Germán dedicated his game to his late-uncle, who he said was with him throughout the game.
Germán finished with 9 strikeouts, and primarily limited the A’s to soft contact. But, as is the case with every perfect game and no hitter, Germán’s outing needed one signature defensive play. With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Germán hung a curveball which Seth Brown hammered towards first base. Anthony Rizzo then made a diving play and flipped to Germán for the second out. According to Baseball Savant, the groundout was tracked at 106 mph, the A’s hardest hit of the night.
Outside of that, the A’s didn’t put too much pressure on the Yankees defense. Ironically, one of Tony Kemp’s routine flyouts would have been a home run if the game had been played at Yankee Stadium, so the pitcher-friendly Coliseum did benefit Germán.
The last player to throw a perfect game in Oakland was Dallas Braden, who is now a color commentator for the A’s. Germán became the first non-Athletic to accomplish the feat in Oakland, joining Braden and Catfish Hunter on the list.
This was just about as clean and efficient as a perfect game can be. Germán needed only 99 pitches to dispatch the A’s, not even scratching his career-high 108 pitches.