Domingo Germán's perfect game

On June 28, 2023, Dominican professional baseball pitcher Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees threw the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history, and the fourth in Yankees franchise history. Germán pitched it during an 11–0 win against the Oakland Athletics at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California.[1]

Domingo Germán's perfect game
Domingo Germán with the Yankees in 2019
New York Yankees Oakland Athletics
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New York Yankees00016010311110
Oakland Athletics000000000003
DateJune 28, 2023
VenueOakland Coliseum
CityOakland, California
Managers
Umpires
Attendance12,479
TelevisionNBC Sports California
YES Network
TV announcersYES Network: Ryan Ruocco (play-by-play), Jeff Nelson (color commentary)
NBC Sports California: Johnny Doskow (play-by-play), Dallas Braden (color commentary)
Radio
Radio announcersWFAN: Justin Shackil (play-by-play), Suzyn Waldman (color commentary)

With Germán's perfect game, the Yankees became the first MLB franchise with four perfect games pitched. Oakland Coliseum joined the original Yankee Stadium as the only venues to host three perfect games.

Background

Perfect game

In Major League Baseball (MLB), a perfect game occurs when a pitcher faces and retires the minimum number of opposing batters – 27 across nine innings. While a no-hitter may allow opposing batters to reach base on a walk, hit by pitch, uncaught third strike, fielder's choice, or error, none of these occur in a perfect game.[2] Pitching a perfect game is one of the rarest feats in baseball, with only 24 instances officially recognized by MLB since 1876.[2][3] Prior to Germán's perfect game, the most recent occurrence was on August 15, 2012, when Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners pitched one against the Tampa Bay Rays.[4]

Domingo Germán

Domingo Germán made his MLB debut with the New York Yankees in 2017,[5] and by the 2019 season, he had joined the team's regular starting rotation.[6] In January 2020, MLB suspended Germán for 81 games under the league's domestic violence policy, which caused him to miss the entirety of the pandemic-shortened season. He struggled with shoulder injuries during the next two seasons, but returned partway through 2022 and ended the year with a 2–5 win–loss record and 3.61 earned run average (ERA) in 16 games (15 starts).[7] By 2023, the Yankees did not see Germán as a regular starter until other pitchers in the organization were sidelined by injury.[8]

Germán struggled in the lead-up to his perfect game, entering his start with a 4–5 record and 5.10 ERA.[9] After being warned about MLB's policy on sticky substances in April,[10] he was suspended for 10 games in May under a violation of that same policy.[11] On June 16, Germán lasted only two innings against the Boston Red Sox, allowing seven earned runs in the process, and on June 22, the start before his perfect game, he was booed off the pitcher's mound after giving up a career-high 10 runs in 3+1⁄3 innings against the Seattle Mariners.[8][12][13]

Game

Germán threw 99 pitches (thereby making it a Maddux),[14] including 51 curveballs. He struck out nine batters.[15][16] Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka, who also caught a no-hitter thrown by Corey Kluber in 2021, said after the game that "I was a passenger for this one ... Domingo was definitely driving the ship."[17] The New York Yankees scored 11 runs, surpassing the 10 runs scored by the San Francisco Giants in Matt Cain's perfect game in 2012 for the most run support ever in a perfect game. The game ended as Esteury Ruiz grounded to third baseman Josh Donaldson, who threw to first baseman Anthony Rizzo to record the final out.[8]

Germán recorded his 500th career strikeout during the game.[16] It was the fourth perfect game in Yankees history, after games thrown by Don Larsen in 1956, by David Wells in 1998, and David Cone in 1999. It was the first perfect game in MLB since Félix Hernández's perfect game on August 15, 2012, the first since the implementation of the pitch clock, and the first thrown by a pitcher from the Dominican Republic.[18]

There were 12,479 fans in attendance for the game at Oakland Coliseum, with fans favoring the Yankees.[8] The game was televised locally on the YES Network and NBC Sports California.[19] Dallas Braden, a former Athletics pitcher who pitched a perfect game in 2010, was the Athletics' color commentator on NBC Sports California.[19] Ryan Ruocco, substituting for Michael Kay, called the game on the YES Network, while Justin Shackil, substituting for John Sterling, called the play-by-play on WFAN.[20]

Game statistics
June 28, 2023 at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California
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Oakland Athletics (21–61)000000000003
WP: Domingo Germán (5–5)   LP: JP Sears (1–6)
Home runs:
NYY: Giancarlo Stanton (7)
OAK: None

Other info
  • WP: Fujinami.
  • Pitches-strikes: Germán 99–72; Sears 92–55; Fujinami 30–18; Ríos, Y 3–0; Pruitt 20–13; Long 33–21.
  • Groundouts-flyouts: Germán 8–7; Sears 2–2; Fujinami 0–0; Ríos, Y 0–0; Pruitt 4–1; Long 2–0.
  • Batters faced: Germán 27; Sears 21; Fujinami 9; Ríos, Y 1; Pruitt 6; Long 7.
  • Inherited runners-scored: Fujinami 3–3; Pruitt 1–1.

[21]

See also

References
  1. Snyder, Matt (June 28, 2023). "Domingo German achieves 24th perfect game in MLB history, giving Yankees most ever with four". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  2. Rivera, Joe (June 30, 2023). "What is a perfect game in baseball? All-time list and more to know about MLB pitchers' most exclusive club". The Sporting News. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  3. Simon, Andrew (June 29, 2023). "A look at all 24 perfect games in AL/NL history". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  4. "Domingo German authors perfect game as Yankees top Athletics". ESPN. June 29, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  5. Hoch, Bryan (June 11, 2017). "German sent down after solid MLB debut". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  6. Miller, Randy (May 14, 2019). "How Yankees' Domingo German has emerged as ace of injury-riddled rotation". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  7. Miller, Randy (February 25, 2023). "How Yankees' Domingo German saved his family and career after domestic violence | 'Everything was a mess'". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  8. Kepner, Tyler (June 29, 2023). "Domingo Germán Proves Perfection Can Come at Any Time". The New York Times. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  9. Evans, Jace; Lacques, Gabe (June 29, 2023). "Yankees' Domingo Germán throws MLB's first perfect game since 2012". USA Today. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  10. Blum, Ronald (April 15, 2023). "Germán leads Yankees over Twins 6-1 after sticky stuff flap". Associated Press. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  11. Ragazzo, Pat (May 18, 2023). "Yankees' Domingo German Ejected for Sticky Substance, Gets 10-Game Suspension". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  12. Fitzpatrick, Mike (June 22, 2023). "Mariners hammer struggling Germán as Woo gets his 1st win in a 10-2 rout of the Yankees". Associated Press. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  13. Vautour, Matt (June 29, 2023). "Yankees' Domingo Germán throws MLB's 24th perfect game in history". The Republican. Springfield, MA. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  14. Maguire, Brent; Randhawa, Manny; Sepe-Chepuru, Shanthi; Langs, Sarah (June 28, 2023). "13 things you need to know about Germán's perfect game". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  15. Media, Field Level (June 29, 2023). "Yankees' Domingo German fires perfect game vs. A's". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  16. "Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán throws perfect game against Oakland A's, the 24th in MLB history". Associated Press. June 29, 2023. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  17. Chen, Sonja (June 29, 2023). "Germán delivers MLB's 1st perfect game since 2012". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  18. "Domingo German achieves 24th perfect game in MLB history, giving Yankees most ever with four". June 29, 2023. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  19. Shipley, Reice (June 29, 2023). "Yankees star throws unbelievable perfect game; MLB world reacts". The Comeback. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  20. Best, Neil (June 29, 2023). "Perfect pals: Longtime friends Ryan Ruocco and Justin Shackil called Domingo German's perfect game". Newsday. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  21. "Boxscore: New York Yankees at Oakland Athletics". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
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