OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees pitched the 24th perfect game in major league history Wednesday night, retiring every Oakland batter in an 11-0 victory over the Athletics.
It was the first perfect game since Seattle Mariners ace Félix Hernández threw one against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 15, 2012. There were three that season — but none since until Germán finished the first no-hitter in the big leagues this year.
Coming off a pair of terrible starts, Germán (5-5) struck out nine of 27 batters against the A's, who have the worst record in the majors.
The 30-year-old right-hander had never before thrown a complete game in the big leagues. He was winless in six previous outings against Oakland.
He joined Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998) and David Cone (1999) as Yankees pitchers to throw perfect games. Larsen's gem came in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Germán threw 72 of 99 pitches for strikes, mixing 51 curveballs and 30 fastballs that averaged 92.5 mph with 17 changeups and one sinker.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
