OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The New York Yankees’ Domingo Germán hit the 24th perfect game in major league history Wednesday night, knocking out every Oakland batter in an 11-0 win over the Athletics.
It was the first perfect game since Seattle Mariners star Félix Hernández threw one against the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 15, 2012. There were three this season – but none more until Germán finished the first no-hitter in the major leagues this year.
He joined Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998), and David Cone (1999) as the Yankees’ pitchers for pitching perfect plays. Larsen’s feat came in game five of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
After two terrible starts, Germán (5-5) hit nine of 27 batters against the A’s, who have the worst record in the majors.
The 30-year-old right-hander, a seven-year veteran, had never pitched a full game in the major leagues. He was serving a ten-game suspension in May after being disqualified from a Toronto game for using an illegal sticky substance on the mound.
Germán was unbeaten in six previous games against Oakland and had 72 of 99 shots for strikes. He shuffled 51 curveballs and 30 fastballs at an average speed of 92.5 mph, with 17 changeups and a sinker.
With the 12,479 spectators on their feet in the ninth inning, Germán finished what he had started. He grounded Aledmys Díaz before Shea Lanegeliers flew into short midfield. When Esteury Ruiz finished the game, the Yankees’ dugout and bullpen emptied while Germán’s teammates ran to the mound to cheer.
Six days after Germán hit a career-best eight runs in a loss to the Seattle Mariners, he hit his 500th career strikeout and was the epitome of perfection.
It was the 13th no-hitter in Yankees history, including Larsen’s perfect play in the World Series. Her previous no-hitter came from Corey Kluber on May 19, 2021 against Texas Rangers.
Seth Brown came closest to base for the A’s, hitting a sharp grounder in the fifth round to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who made a diving stop and threw to Germán for the out.
Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run for the first time in more than two weeks and hit three runs, and former Oakland third baseman Josh Donaldson added three RBIs to give the Yankees their 15th win in 21 games against the A’s since August 31, 2019.
Stanton smashed a 422-foot home run in the fourth pitch with a first-pitch fastball from former Yankees pitcher JP Sears (1-6). The ball was hit so hard that Ruiz in midfield and Brown in right field didn’t move, just turned their heads and watched the ball sail left to center.
Stanton added a two-run single against Shintaro Fujinami in the fifth set as the Yankees scored six runs and benefited from two errors from the A’s.
Kyle Higashioka had an RBI double and then scored when Anthony Volpe hit an infield single and Sears spun the ball wildly into foul territory. Volpe finished second through the error, stole the third, and then scored with DJ LeMahieu’s single. A’s first baseman Ryan Noda also had a fielding error that allowed the reach.
Leading the inning and scoring, Isiah Kiner-Falefa capped the rebellion with a two-out RBI single.
But the evening belonged to Germán, who was cheered on loudly as the game progressed. Many Oakland fans wore Yankees colors or jerseys.