Matt Cain's perfect game

Matt Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in MLB history on June 13, 2012.

On June 13, 2012, Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants pitched the 22nd perfect game (no opposing batters reach first base) in Major League Baseball (MLB) history and the first in Giants' franchise history. Pitching against the Houston Astros at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California,[1] Cain retired all 27 batters that he faced and tallied 14 strikeouts,[2] tied for the most strikeouts in a perfect game with Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965. Following Philip Humber's perfect game earlier in 2012, Cain's performance marked just the third season in MLB history in which multiple perfect games were thrown. In June 1880, Lee Richmond and John Montgomery Ward both threw perfect games; in May 2010 Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay both accomplished the feat.[3]

Two notable defensive plays by Cain's teammates kept the perfect game intact. Melky Cabrera made a running catch at the wall in left field in the top of the sixth inning, while Gregor Blanco made a diving catch in right-center field to start the top of the seventh.[4]

It was the first Giants no-hitter since left-hander Jonathan Sanchez threw one on July 10, 2009, against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park. The Astros were no-hit for the fifth time in franchise history, and the first time since Carlos Zambrano threw a no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs on September 14, 2008 at Miller Park (Milwaukee) (moved from Minute Maid Park because of Hurricane Ike). It was the second time the Astros were no-hit by the Giants; Juan Marichal did it on June 15, 1963.[5] It was also the first time in Astros history that no one reached base safely.

Cain surpassed his previous personal best of 12 strikeouts in a single game, which he set in 2006. Cain's 125 pitches were the most thrown in a Major League perfect game.[6] The Giants recorded 10 runs, the most by any team in a perfect game. By scoring a run in the 5th inning, Cain became the only pitcher to have scored a run in his perfect game.

The final out was made by Astros pinch-hitter Jason Castro. Castro chopped a 1-2 pitch to third base where it was fielded deep behind the bag by third baseman Joaquin Arias. Arias successfully made the long throw across the diamond to first baseman Brandon Belt, who then tucked the ball in his back pocket before joining his teammates on the mound in celebration.[7]

Statistics

Linescore

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Astros (26–36) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Giants (36–27) 2 3 2 1 2 0 0 0 x 10 15 0
WP: Matt Cain (8–2)   LP: J. A. Happ (4–7)
Home runs:
HOU: None
SFG: Melky Cabrera (5), Brandon Belt (2), Gregor Blanco (4)

Cain details: Groundouts: 6; Flyouts: 7; Pitches: 125 (86 strikes, 39 balls)
Umpires: HP: Ted Barrett. 1B: Mike Muchlinski. 2B: Angel Campos. 3B: Brian Runge.
Weather: 59 degrees, clear. Wind: 13 mph, Out to CF
Time: 2:36
Attendance: 42,298 [8]

Box score

Houston AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
Schafer, JordanJordan Schafer, CF 3 0 0 0 0 2 .242
Altuve, JoséJosé Altuve, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 3 .321
Lowrie, JedJed Lowrie, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 .279
Martinez, J. D.J. D. Martinez, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 .226
Wallace, BrettBrett Wallace, 1B 3 0 0 0 0 3 .345
Johnson, ChrisChris Johnson, 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 .280
Bogusevic, BrianBrian Bogusevic, RF 3 0 0 0 0 1 .224
Snyder, ChrisChris Snyder, C 3 0 0 0 0 1 .188
Happ, J. A.J. A. Happ, P 1 0 0 0 0 1 .087
 Cruz, RhinerRhiner Cruz, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
  Bixler, BrianBrian Bixler, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 .238
   Cedeño, XavierXavier Cedeño, P 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
    Castro, JasonJason Castro, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 .258
Houston IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Happ, J. A.J. A. Happ, L (4–7) 3.1 11 8 8 1 5 2 5.33
Cruz, RhinerRhiner Cruz 1.2 2 2 2 1 0 1 7.40
Cedeño, XavierXavier Cedeño 3.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2.45
San Francisco AB R H RBI BB SO AVG
Blanco, GregorGregor Blanco, RF 5 1 2 3 0 1 .280
Theriot, RyanRyan Theriot, 2B 4 2 2 0 0 0 .260
 Burriss, EmmanuelEmmanuel Burriss, 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 .213
Cabrera, MelkyMelky Cabrera, LF 5 2 2 2 0 1 .367
Posey, BusterBuster Posey, C 5 1 2 0 0 0 .294
Pagán, ÁngelÁngel Pagán, CF 4 0 0 0 1 2 .315
Sandoval, PabloPablo Sandoval, 3B 4 1 3 2 0 0 .309
 Crawford, BrandonBrandon Crawford, SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 .226
Belt, BrandonBrandon Belt, 1B 3 1 2 3 1 1 .238
Árias, JoaquínJoaquín Árias, SS- 3B 3 1 1 0 0 0 .237
Cain, MattMatt Cain, P 3 1 1 0 0 1 .188
San Francisco IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Cain, MattMatt Cain, W (8–2) 9 0 0 0 0 14 0 2.18

Aftermath

Cain's cleats, hat, uniform, dirt taken from the pitcher's mound, and a ball from the game will be included in an exhibit in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. All four umpires signed a game ball for Cain, and Belt gave Cain the ball used to record the final out.[6]

According to Bill James' game score statistic, Cain's perfect game tied Sandy Koufax's perfect game for the most dominant modern-era perfect game.[9]

See also

References

  1. Crossman, Matt. "Matt Cain's perfect game adds catcher Buster Posey to select fraternity". aol.sportingnews.com. Huffington Post Media Group. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  2. Kroner, Steve (June 14, 2012). "Matt Cain throws perfect game as Giants win 10-0". SF Gate. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  3. "Cain Pitches 22nd Perfect Game in MLB as Giants Beat Astros". Bloomberg. June 13, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
  4. Lee, Jay. June 2012 "Blanco positions himself to save perfect game" Check |url= value (help).
  5. "Houston Astros vs. San Francisco Giants – Recap – June 13, 2012 – ESPN". Scores.espn.go.com. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  6. 1 2 as of 11:14 AM ET (April 7, 2010). "Matt Cain gem gives Giants a perfect game at last". Fox News. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  7. "Matt Cain gem gives Giants a perfect game at last".
  8. "Boxscore: Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants". MLB.com. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  9. Hoffman, Benjamin (June 14, 2012). "Matt Cain's Perfection Matched by His Dominance". NYTimes.com. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
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