White Sox' Buehrle throws baseball's 18th perfect game
Wise's great 9th-inning play the key to saving Sox lefty's great day
Mark Buehrle's first 26 outs seemed to fly by -- though out No.25 seemed to stop everyone's heart for an instant.
(AP)
(AP)
PHOTO GALLERY
Mark Buehrle's perfect game
AMERICAN LEAGUE
David Cone
07-18-1999 New York 6, Montreal 0
David Wells
05-17-1998 New York 4, Minnesota 0
Mike Witt
09-30-1984 California 1, Texas 0
Kenny Rogers
07-28-1994 Texas 4, California 0
Len Barker
05-15-1981 Cleveland 3, Toronto 0
Catfish Hunter
05-08-1968 Oakland 4, Minnesota 0
Don Larsen
10-08-1956 New York 2, Brooklyn 0*
Charlie Robertson
04-30-1922 Chicago 2, Detroit 0
Addie Joss
10-02-1908 Cleveland 1, Chicago 0
Cy Young
05-05-1904 Boston 3, Philadelphia 0
* Game 5, 1956
World Series
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Randy Johnson
05-18-2004 Arizona 2, Atlanta 0
Dennis Martinez
07-28-1991 Montreal 2, Los Angeles 0
Tom Browning
09-16-1988 Cincinnati 1, Los Angeles 0
Sandy Koufax
09-09-1965 Los Angeles 1, Chicago 0
Jim Bunning
06-21-1964 Philadelphia 6, New York 0
Monte Ward
06-17-1880 Providence 5, Buffalo 0
Lee Richmond
06-12-1880 Worcester 1, Cleveland 0
But the last out to secure his second career no-hitter? That seemed to unwind in slow motion.
Buehrle delivered a curveball that started high in the zone. Tampa Bay Rays No. 9 hitter Jason Bartlett chopped at it and hit a high-bouncing ball to shortstop. Alexei Ramirez glided over a few steps, scooped up the ball and delivered a looping throw to first base.
Josh Fields steadied his hands and gathered in the routine throw. Twenty-seven batters, 27 outs.
Buehrle had thrown the majors' first perfect game in five years -- and just the 18th in major-league history -- and he couldn't believe it, covering his head with his mitt as his teammates mobbed the left-hander on the mound after a 5-0 victory Thursday in front of 28,036 thrilled fans at U.S. Cellular Field.
''I don't know how to explain it,'' Buehrle said minutes after delivering just the second perfect game in White Sox history.
''I never thought I'd throw a no-hitter, never thought I'd throw a perfect game, I never thought I'd hit a home run. Never say never in this game because crazy stuff can happen.''
Buehrle has won a World Series ring -- working as a starter and closer in the Sox' 2005 sweep of the Houston Astros -- started and won an All-Star Game and now has two no-hitters, the first coming on April 18, 2007, at U.S. Cellular Field against the Texas Rangers.
Not bad for a 38th-round pick.
''I still don't know what happened,'' said Buehrle, who took a congratulatory call from President Obama, a card-carrying White Sox fan. ''It's another thing when you retire and sit back and you see how many perfect games have been thrown in history and your name's in there. I think that's when I'll sit back and kind of be surprised.''
It took 116 pitches and 2 hours, 3 minutes -- Buehrle (11-3) operating at his typical turbo-drive pace. He struck out six, and 26 of the outs were mundane. But out No. 25 to open the ninth inning was simply amazing.
Buehrle jogged to the mound to a rousing ovation before the ninth with 100 pitches under his belt. Gabe Kapler, who lined out to left and grounded to third in his previous at-bats, did the most damage all day by a Rays hitter, sending pitch No. 105 towering into the air toward deep left-center field.
Dewayne Wise, who had just entered the game as a defensive replacement, nudging Scott Podsednik from center field to left, raced to the warning track, jumped high and crashed into the wall just as the ball landed in his mitt that was extended over the 8-foot-high fence.
''I looked up and said, 'Wow, this might be one of those plays where I have to run through the wall to catch it,''' Wise said. ''I couldn't really feel it going into my glove, so I thought it was falling. I saw it slowly rolling out of my glove, and that's when I stuck my left hand out there and caught it.''
Manager Ozzie Guillen watched the ball jump off Kapler's bat, and his mind was jumping ahead.
''As soon as the ball leave the bat, I say, 'Wow, is [reliever Tony] Pena ready?' Because I was going to take [Buehrle] out right away -- he had over 100 and something pitches,'' Guillen said. ''[Wise] kept going and going, I thought he had a chance. Then he bobbled the ball. I'm not going to say it was the best catch I've ever seen, but it was the best situation I've ever seen.''
Next up was Michel Hernandez, who worked the count to 3-1. Buehrle struck him out on a 3-2 pitch and was one out away from history as Bartlett stepped to the plate and the ballpark filled with excited tension.
When Buehrle no-hit the Rangers in 2007, it was the first one in the stadium's history. In that game, he faced the minimum number of batters but missed a perfect game by walking Sammy Sosa. Buehrle quickly picked off the veteran straying too far from first base.
Buehrle joins Frank Smith as the only White Sox pitchers to deliver two no-hitters. Smith did it against the Tigers in 1905 and the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908.
Buehrle got an early lead thanks to Fields' grand slam off Scott Kazmir (4-6) in the second inning.
''I bought everyone watches after the last one,'' Buehrle said. ''That was an expensive no-hitter. This one will probably be more expensive.''
Expect Wise's gift to carry the heftiest price tag.
''He might wake up tomorrow,'' Rays veteran Pat Burrell said, ''with a new car in his driveway.''
2
Mark Buehrle is the second pitcher to throw two no-hitters with the Sox. (Frank Smith did it Sept. 6, 1905, and Sept. 20, 1908.)
2
Buehrle is the second Sox pitcher to throw a perfect game. Charles Robertson (right) was the first. He threw his on April 30, 1922, at Detroit. Robertson was the first pitcher in major-league history to throw a perfect game on the road.
3
Number of times Buehrle has faced the minimum number of batters in a game (also July 21, 2004, against the Indians and April 18, 2007, against the Rangers).
17
Number of no-hitters in Sox history. The first was James Callahan against the Tigers on Sept. 20, 1902. Before Thursday, the last was Buehrle's against the Rangers on April 18, 2007.
18
Buehrle threw the 18th perfect game in major-league history and the eighth in the American League. Randy Johnson tossed the last one on May 18, 2004, against the Braves while pitching for the Diamondbacks. David Cone threw the last AL perfect game on July 18, 1999, against the Expos while pitching for the Yankees.
48
Number of times in his career that Buehrle has retired 10 or more batters in a row.
24
Buehrle is the 24th pitcher in major-league history to throw multiple no-hitters. The only other active pitcher with two no-hitters is Johnson.
116
Number of pitches Buehrle threw in the game, 76 of them strikes.
2:03
Both Buehrle's no-hitter and his perfect game took the same amount of time.