SEATTLE — Felix Hernandez pitched the Seattle Mariners’ first perfect game and the 23rd in baseball history, overpowering the Tampa Bay Rays in a brilliant 1-0 victory Wednesday.
The Mariners’ ace and former AL Cy Young Award winner has long talked of his desire to achieve pitching perfection.
He finally accomplished it against the Rays, striking out the side twice and finishing with 12 strikeouts.
It was the third perfect game in baseball this season, joining gems by Chicago’s Philip Humber against the Mariners in April and San Francisco’s Matt Cain against Houston in June.
Safeco Field became the first ballpark in history to host two perfect games — Humber’s and Hernandez’s — in a single season.
