A perfect game is exactly that: perfect. And the ending to Drew Smyly's bid for perfection Friday came on a play that was anything but.
The veteran Cubs southpaw took the mound for the top of the eighth inning against the Dodgers having allowed no baserunners. The first batter he faced in the frame, David Peralta, tapped a slow dribbler down the third-base line. As Smyly went to field the ball and turn to throw to first base, catcher Yan Gomes collided with him, taking away the opportunity to retire Peralta.
It would have been a challenging play regardless, but the collision ended any chance of it being made.
MORE: When was the last perfect game in MLB?
According to Baseball Savant, Peralta's batted ball had an exit velocity of 32.9 mph and an expected batting average of .240.
"It’s a tough way to end it," Smyly said after the game. "You feel like you’re really close and executed a good pitch, good curveball and he barely hit it, tapped it. Wasn’t going to go foul. One of us had to make the play and I know Yan wanted it just as bad as I did and we both just ran and it was perfect place, just got there at the same time. That part’s disappointing. But I don’t think it takes away anything from the game."
Drew Smyly and his son after throwing 7 perfect innings. He said he was aware after the first time through the order that he hadn’t allowed a hit. Said he had the worst pregame bullpen he could remember, didn’t even think his stuff was that good, more pitch mix and command. #Cubs pic.twitter.com/Y1ArVtrVKg
— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) April 21, 2023
Gomes, for his part, embraced the oddness of the play. He fielded questions at his locker while wearing a Northwestern football helmet that had a Cubs decal on the side and the team's "WIN" catchphrase on the front.
"I guess he didn't think he was going to be recovering a fumble today," Gomes said. "It's an aggressive play. Both of us went after it. It just came to the point where both of us wanted it. He got to it before I did and I'm not as quick as I used to be trying to jump out of the way and just ended up riding him and becoming a cool picture."
Cubs catcher Yan Gomes held court in a football helmet, while discussing his “tackle” of Drew Smyly pic.twitter.com/3q9ITzsYmH
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) April 21, 2023
Smyly had been carving up the Dodgers to that point. He had tallied nine strikeouts and had limited hard contact. The hardest-hit ball came from Mookie Betts, who had a 98.1 mph flyout. No other Dodger batted ball against Smyly exceeded 90 mph.
James Outman's fifth-inning groundout had the second-highest expected batting average at just .260. Peralta's spoiling single had the second-highest xBA.
MORE: Why Mookie Betts is playing shortstop for the Dodgers
Smyly's pitch count was getting high, which means he might not have been able to finish out the game. He came into the eighth having thrown 93 pitches, with the single by Peralta coming on pitch No. 95. Smyly, who was making his 160th career start and 243rd appearance, had exceeded 100 pitches only 35 times in his major league career and had thrown more than 93 only 69 times, according to Stathead.
But manager David Ross insisted he was going to give him a chance to let him finish the game out.
"Oh,yeah, I was going to ride him harder than Yan did," Ross joked.
Would Cubs manager David Ross have left Drew Smyly in if he was still perfect going into the 9th? pic.twitter.com/s6VErc4amC
— Ryan Herrera (@ryan_a_herrera) April 21, 2023
There has never been a combined perfect game in MLB history.
Smyly retired his next two batters and then was pulled for Jeremiah Estrada. Smyly finished with one hit allowed and 10 strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings. He collected the win in the Cubs' 13-0 victory.
How many perfect games have there been in MLB history?
There have been 23 perfect games in MLB history. Compare that to the 318 no-hitters, and it's clear why it is such an accomplishment to go the full nine without allowing any baserunners.
From 2009-12, there was a real run on perfectos. Six pitchers hurled perfect games in that span, accounting for more than a quarter of all official perfect games across MLB's long history.
The first two perfect games were thrown back 1880, but it is worth noting that pitching was significantly different back then, with shorter mound distances, underhand pitching, no real strike zone and foul balls not counting as strikes.
| Pitcher | Date | Team | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Richmond | June 12, 1880 | Worcesters | Blues | 1-0 |
| John Montgomery Ward | June 17, 1880 | Grays | Bison | 5-0 |
| Cy Young | May 5, 1904 | Americans | Athletics | 3-0 |
| Addie Joss | Oct. 2, 1908 | Naps | White Sox | 1-0 |
| Charlie Robertson | Apr. 30, 1922 | White Sox | Tigers | 2-0 |
| Don Larsen | *Oct. 8, 1956 | Yankees | Dodgers | 2-0 |
| Jim Bunning | June 21, 1964 | Phillies | Mets | 6-0 |
| Sandy Koufax | Sep. 9, 1965 | Dodgers | Cubs | 1-0 |
| Jim "Catfish" Hunter | May 8, 1968 | Athletics | Twins | 4-0 |
| Len Barker | May 15, 1981 | Indians | Blue Jays | 3-0 |
| Mike Witt | Sept. 30, 1984 | Angels | Rangers | 1-0 |
| Tom Browning | Sept. 16, 1988 | Reds | Dodgers | 1-0 |
| Dennis Martínez | July 28, 1991 | Expos | Dodgers | 2-0 |
| Kenny Rogers | July 28, 1994 | Rangers | Angels | 4-0 |
| David Wells | May 17, 1998 | Yankees | Twins | 4-0 |
| David Cone | July 18, 1999 | Yankees | Expos | 6-0 |
| Randy Johnson | May 18, 2004 | Diamondbacks | Braves | 2-0 |
| Mark Buehrle | July 23, 2009 | White Sox | Rays | 5-0 |
| Dallas Braden | May 9, 2010 | Athletics | Rays | 4-0 |
| Roy Halladay | May 29, 2010 | Phillies | Marlins | 1-0 |
| Philip Humber | April 21, 2012 | White Sox | Mariners | 4-0 |
| Matt Cain | June 13, 2012 | Giants | Astros | 10-0 |
| Félix Hernández | Aug. 15, 2012 | Mariners | Rays | 1-0 |
* World Series.
When was the last perfect game in MLB history?
MLB fans have waited a long time for the next perfect game. The last time someone finished all nine innings without allowing any baserunners was on Aug. 15, 2012, when Mariners ace Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game against the Rays in Seattle.
Hernandez struck out 12 and threw 113 pitches. His was the last of a record three perfect games that season.
