Yankees' Domingo Germán pitches perfect game
Oakland, Calif. — Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees pitched the 24th perfect game in major league history Wednesday night, retiring all 27 Oakland batters 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.
He joined Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998) and David Cone (1999) as Yankees pitchers to throw perfect games. Larsen's came in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
"So exciting," Germán said through a translator. "When you think about something very unique in baseball, not many people have an opportunity to pitch a perfect game. To accomplish something like this in my career is something that I'm going to remember forever."
It was the first time in his Yankee career that Germán pitched an entire game, all nine innings, CBSSports.com's Matt Snyder points out.
And, Snyder writes, "Germán didn't exactly enter the game on a hot streak. He coughed up 17 runs, 15 earned, on 15 hits in 5 1/3 innings in his previous two starts. He gave up 10 runs alone last time out, making him the pitcher who allowed the most runs in the outing immediately before his perfect game in history."
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, a seven-year veteran, served a 10-game suspension in May after getting ejected from a game in Toronto for using an illegal sticky substance on his hands.
Winless in six previous outings against Oakland, Germán threw 72 of 99 pitches for strikes. He mixed 51 curveballs and 30 fastballs that averaged 92.5 mph with 17 changeups and one sinker.
With the crowd of only 12,479 on its feet for the ninth inning, Germán finished what he started. He got Aledmys Díaz to ground out before Shea Lanegeliers flied out to short center field. When Esteury Ruiz grounded out to end it, the Yankees' dugout and bullpen emptied as Germán's teammates raced out to the mound to celebrate.
Six days after allowing a career-high eight runs in a loss to the Seattle Mariners, Germán got his 500th career strikeout and was the definition of perfection.
It was the 13th no-hitter in Yankees history, including Larsen's perfect game in the World Series. Their previous no-hitter came from Corey Kluber on May 19, 2021, against the Texas Rangers.
Seth Brown came the closest to reaching base for the A's, hitting a sharp grounder in the fifth to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who made a diving stop and tossed to Germán for the out.
Giancarlo Stanton homered for the first time in more than two weeks and drove in three runs, and former Oakland third baseman Josh Donaldson added three RBIs to help the Yankees to their 15th win in 21 games against the A's since Aug. 31, 2019.
But the night belonged to Germán, who was loudly cheered as the game unfolded. Many fans in Oakland were decked out in Yankees colors or jerseys.
Always considered a top prospect, Germán had never lived up to that billing.