Saturday(September 8), Kansas City Royals’ rookie right-hander Jorge Lopez took a 4-0 lead over my hometown Twins into the bottom of the ninth. More important (particularly since neither the Twins nor Royals are in the post-season hunt), the 25-year-old Lopez also took a perfect game into the ninth. History, however, was not to be made. Lopez walked Twins’ RF Max Kepler on five pitches to start the inning (and lose the perfect game) and then gave up a single to center by LF Robbie Grossman (on a 1-2 pitch) to lose the no-hitter (Kepler going to third). Wily Peralta came on in relief and gave up a sacrifice fly (there went the shutout), but closed out Lopez’ 4-1 victory.
Lopez’ near-perfect outing led BBRT to reflect on past games when MLB pitchers got even closer to perfection. So, here’s a post on perfect games lost with two outs in the ninth inning – or even later. I’ll rate the top ten on the bases of heartbreak (or irony) … and throw in the remainder as “Honorable Mentions.”
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NUMBER ONE – I’m “Calling” This the Toughest Perfect Game “Missed” Ever
Armando Galarraga, Tigers … June 2, 2010
Photo by Kevin.Ward 
Perhaps the most heartbreaking “no-hitter breakup” took place on June 2, 2010, when Detroit Tigers’ righty Armando Galarraga found himself on the mound in the top of the ninth 26 outs into a perfect game (three strikeouts). The Tigers led 3-0 and Galarraga was facing Indians’ second baseman Jason Donald. Galarraga induced Donald to ground to right side of the infield. Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera moved to his right to make a fine play, spinning and throwing to Galarraga covering first (who clearly beat Donald to the bag). Umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe, a mistake he admitted and apologized for after the game. (Talk about a bad time for a bad call.)
The official scorekeeper gave Donald an infield single, ending both the perfect game and the no-hitter. Galarraga retired the next batter – CF Trevor Crowe – on a groundout. Joyce’s call, despite the post-game mea culpa, stood, and Galarraga, painfully, joined the list of pitchers losing a perfect game with two outs in the ninth.
Galarraga had a five-season MLB career (2007-2012), going 26-34, 4.78 for the Rangers, Tigers, Diamondbacks and Astros. His near-perfect game was one of only two complete games in 91 career starts.
NUMBER TWO – Unlucky 13, Indeed!
For another hard luck story involving near-perfection, consider the plight of Pittsburgh Pirates’ southpaw Harvey Haddix, who took a perfect game into the 13th inning – AND LOST.
On May 26, 1959, Haddix took the mound against the first-place and defending NL Champion Milwaukee Braves. Haddix retired the first 36 hitters in order – fanning eight, carrying a perfect game into the bottom of the 13th. A 20-game winner in 1953, the 33-year-old Haddix had come into the game 4-2, with a 2.67 ERA in seven starts – and had thrown complete games in his two previous outings. (He would end up 12-12, 3.13 on the year.)
Unfortunately, the Pirates’ lineup had given him no support. (Yes, the heartbreak here is that he continued that “perfecto” past the ninth and his teamates still could not give hime a run.) Braves’ righty Lew Burdette, despite giving up 12 hits and fanning only two, had held the Pirates scoreless. Milwaukee 2B Felix Mantilla led off the 13th by reaching on a throwing error by Pirates’ third baseman Don Hoak. Future Hall of Famer 3B Eddie Mathews bunted Mantilla over to second, which led to an intentional walk to another future Hall of Famer (RF Hank Aaron), bringing up 1B Joe Adcock.
Adcock launched a 1-0 pitch over the right field fence for what appeared to be a three-run home run. However, the Braves, in celebrating the tension-filled victory, forgot how to run the bases. Adcock passed Aaron between second and third and, after some deliberation, Adcock was called out – ultimately changing his three-run homer to a one-run double. So, despite 12 perfect innings, Haddix lost the no-hitter, the shutout and the game itself. But he did etch his name forever into baseball lore; and countless trivia quizzes. He still holds the record for the most consecutive hitters retired from the start of a game – and the second spot on this heartbreak, near-perfect list.
Haddix spent 14 seasons (1952-65) in the major leagues (Cardinals, Phillies, Reds, Pirates, Orioles), going 136-113, 3.48. His best seasons were with the Cardinals in 1953-54. In those two campaigns, Haddix put up lines of 20-9, 3.06 and 18-13, 3.57. The 5’9”, 170-pounder was a three-time All Star and led the NL in shutouts (six) in 1953.
NUMBER THREE – Not Just One Out, One Strike, Away.
Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals … June 20, 2015
Photo by Corn Farmer
Washington Nationals’ right-hander Max Scherzer came within one out – within one strike actually – of a perfect outing on June 20, 2015. Missing by just one swing and miss – and having four chances to sneak that final strike by – earns him number-three on the hard-luck, near-perfect roster.
Scherzer entered the top of the ninth with a 6-0 lead over the Pittsburgh Pirates – having retired the first 24 batters, striking out ten. In the ninth, Scherzer retired the first two batters (RF Gregory Polanco on a pop out to the catcher and SS Jordy Mercer on a liner to center) and then worked the 27th hitter (pinch hitter Jose Tabata) to a 2-2 count. Tabata fouled off three 2-2 pitches before Scherzer lost the perfect game in perhaps the most painful way (in more ways than one) possible – by hitting Tabata with a pitch (a breaking ball to the elbow). Scherzer then got Pirates’ second baseman Josh Harrison on a fly ball to left, completing the no-hitter – and earning a 6-0 victory. Scherzer, by the way, was not the first pitcher to lose a perfect game by hitting the 27th batter (see George Wiltse, next in this post).
Scherzer, still active, is in his eleventh major league season (Diamondbacks, Tigers, Nationals). He is a six-time All Star, two-time twenty-game winner and three-time Cy Young Award winner (2013-2016). In 2015, he went 14-12, 2.79, but led the NL with four complete games and three shutouts. As this post is written his career record is 158-81, 3.20 – with ten complete games, five shutouts and two no-hitters.
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NUMBER FOUR – Another Bad “Call” – Another “Missed” Perfecto – Another “Not Missed” Batter.
George “Hooks” Wiltse, New York Giants … July 4, 1908
Photo by The Library of Congress
It looked, for the longest time, like Wiltse was going to have plenty to celebrate on Independence Day 1908. The Giants’ southpaw retired the first 26 Phillies before hitting Philadelphia pitcher George McQuillan with a pitch on a 2-2 count (after not getting the call on a very close pitch on his previous delivery – a call umpire Cy Rigler later admitted he missed). Wilste retired the next batter. However, despite nine no-hit/no-run innings, he wasn’t done yet. He and McQuillan were embroiled in a 0-0 duel (like Harvey Haddix, Wiltse got little support in his near-perfecto). Wiltse went on to pitch-a 1-2-3 tenth (preserving the no-hitter) and the Giants managed to push across a run to give Wiltse a 1-0, no-hit victory. Wilste is one of only three pitchers to date to complete a no-hitter of more than nine innings. Wilste finished the 1908 season 23-14, with a 2.34 ERA. He was also a twenty-game winner in 1909 (20-11, 2.00) and went 139-90, 2.47 in twelve MLB seasons. He finishes a spot behind Scherzer’s two-strike hit batsman only because, even if he had gotten the strike out, the perfect game would not have been completed (since the game itself was not completed). Given his 1-2-3 tenth, however, that missed call cost him a perfect outing.
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NUMBER FIVE – Another One-Strike-Away Performance
Mike Mussina, Yankees … September 2, 2001
Photo by Keith Allison
Fifth-place on the list goes to another one-strike-away, near-perfect performance. On September 2, 2001, the Yankees’ Mike Mussina squared off against the rival Red Sox at Fenway Park. After eight innings, Mussina and Red Sox starter David Cone were locked in a 0-0 duel. Mussina hadn’t allowed a base runner, striking out twelve. Cone had given up just four hits and three walks (fanning eight), while holding New York scoreless. The Yankees pushed across a run in the top of the ninth on a single, an error and a double by 3B Enrique Wilson. Mussina, looking for his 14th victory of the campaign, went to work on his perfect game (which would have been the first ever at Fenway) – notching a ground out (pinch hitter Troy O’Leary) and a strikeout (2B Lou Merloni) and taking pinch hitter Carl Everett to a 1-2 count before Everett singled to left. Mussina retired Trot Nixon for the final out, in a 1-0 one-hit win.
Mussina finished the season 17-11, 3.15. In an 18-season MLB career (1991-2008), Mussina went 270-153, 3.68 with 57 complete games and 23 shutouts. The five-time All Star won 17 or more games eight times and, ironically, had only one 20-win season – his last. As a 39-year-old, Mussina went 20-9, 3.37 for the Yankees in 2008. In the major leagues from 1991 to 2008, Mussina pitched for the Orioles and Yankees.
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NUMBER SIX
Dave Stieb, Blue Jays … August 4, 1989 … Worked Really Hard for a No-Hitter
On August 4, 1989, Blue Jays’ right-hander Dave Stieb took a 2-0 lead and a perfect game into the top of the ninth inning against the Yankees. Stieb started the inning as though ready to make history, fanning pinch hitters Hal Morris and Ken Phelps on nine pitches (his tenth and eleventh strikeouts of the game). Then Steib fell behind the number-nine hitter – CF Roberto Kelly – 2-0. Stieb had to throw a strike and Kelly knew it – and hit it. He broke up the perfect game and the no-hitter with a double to left. Second baseman Steve Sax followed with a run-scoring single, before left fielder Luis Polonia grounded out to end the game. So, Stieb lost the perfect game, the no-hitter and the shutout – but did get the win.
Stieb ended the season 17-8, 3.35 – one of six seasons in which the seven-time All Star logged 16 or more wins. In a 16-season MLB career (1979-1992, 1998), Stieb went 176-137, 4.83 for the Blue Jays and (for one season) White Sox. Steib takes sixth-place on this list based not soley on that 1989 game – but also on the fact that it came after he lost two no-hitters (not perfect games) with two outs and two strikes on the batter the previous season. (See box below.)
DAVE STIEB – SO CLOSE AND YET SO FAR
In 1988, Dave Stieb – who would lose a perfect game with two outs in the ninth on August 4, 1989 – twice came within one strike of a no-hitter – and in consecutive starts. On September 24, 1988 (against the Indians) and September 30. 1988 (versus the Orioles), he lost no-hitters with two outs in the ninth inning and two strikes on the hitter (2 and 2 counts both times). Stieb did get two complete-game shutouts, 1-0 over the Indians and 4-0 over the Orioles. The games were his final two starts of the 1988 season, so he had the entire off-season to contemplate his bad luck. Stieb did finally get his no-hitter – the first in Toronto Blue Jays’ history – a 3-0 win (four walks/nine strikeouts) over the Indians in Cleveland on September 2, 1990.
NUMBER SEVEN – Unfortunately, A Walk In The Park.
Milt Pappas, Cubs … September 2, 1972
On September 2, 1972, the Cubs’ Milt Pappas held an 8-0 lead over the San Diego Padres – and had a perfect game going (with six strikeouts) as the Padres batted in the ninth. After retiring the first two batters in the final frame, Pappas walked pinch hitter Larry Stahl on a very close 3-2 pitch. Pappas then retired pinch hitter Garry Jestadt on a pop out to second base. So, while he lost the perfect game, he did save the no-hitter. Pappas – who went 209-164, 3.40 in 17 MLB seasons (1957-73) – had his best year in 1972, going 17-7, 2.77. It was the 33-year-old’s 16th MLB campaign (he retired after the 1973 season). The two-time All Star (1962 and 1965) spent time with the Orioles, Reds, Braves, and Cubs.
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NUMBER-EIGHT – Once Again, One Strike Away.
Ron Robinson, Reds … May 2, 1988
Reds’ right-hander Ron Robinson was one strike away from a perfect game on May 2, 1988. He had a 3-0 lead, two outs in the ninth, nary a base runner allowed (three strikeouts) and a 2-2 count on Expos’ pinch hitter Wallace Johnson – and then hung a curveball that Johnson hit for a single. Tim Raines followed with a two-run home run, and Red’s closer John Franco was brought in to get the final out. So, on the verge of a perfect game (with two out and two strikes in the ninth), Robinson lost the no-hitter, the shutout and the complete game. (He did get the win.)
In his nine MLB seasons (1984-92 – Reds and Brewers), Robinson recorded eight complete games and two shutouts – and had a respectable 48-39 record, with a 3.63 ERA and 19 saves. His best season was 1990, split between the Reds and Brewers, when he went 14-7, 3.26 and notched three seven of his complete games and both of his career shutouts.
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NUMBERS NINE & TEN (tie) … Yu Can’t Always Get What You Want
Yu Darvish and Yusmeiro Petit
Ninth and tenth place tie – double Yu’s; and as much irony as heartbreak. In 2013, two pitchers named Yu – Yu Darvish and Yu Petit lost perfect games with two outs in the ninth. Those two share ninth place, just for the irony of having two “Yu’s” lose a perfect game with two outs in the ninth in the same season.
Yu Darvish, Rangers … April 2, 2013
In his first start of the 2013 season (April 2), Rangers’ Ace Yu Darvish stifled the Houston Astros without a base runner for 8 2/3 innings – fanning 14. All he had to do to gain perfection was retire the Rangers’ number-nine hitter, Marwin Gonzalez. (Gonzalez had hit .234 in 80 games as a rookie in 2012, and would hit .221 in 72 games in 2013.)
Gonzalez hit Darvish’s first pitch up the middle – through Darvish’s legs – for a single. It was Darvish’s 111th pitch and he was relieved by Michael Kirkman, who finished off the 7-0 win. So, despite a sterling effort, Darvish was denied a perfect game, a no-hitter, a complete game and even a personal shutout. He did get the win. Darvish, still active, finished the 2003 season 13-9, 2.83. As this post is written, his career record is 57-45, 3.49 and he has two complete games and one shutout in 139 starts (2012-14, 2016-18).
Yusmeiro “Yu” Petit, Giants … September 6, 2013
On September 6, 2013, the San Francisco Giants’ Yusmeiro (Yu) Petit joined the unlucky “almost perfect” rotation. With two out in the ninth, Petit – with a 3-0 lead over the Diamondbacks – had retired all 26 batters he had faced, fanning seven. The Diamondbacks sent up pinch hitter Eric Chavez, who worked the count full. Then, just one strike away from perfection, Petit gave up a single to right field (that dropped just out of the reach of a diving Hunter Pence). Petit retired the next hitter CF A.J. Pollock on a grounder to third – settling for a one-hit shutout. This made Petit the second pitcher name “Yu” to get within one out of a “perfecto” during the 2013 season. Petit finished the season a 4-1, 3.86 (eight games, seven starts). Still active (2006-17), his MLB record as this post is written is 24-32, 4.47.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS
THE REMAINING HURLERS WHO LOST NO-HITTERS WITH TWO OUTS IN THE NINTH INNING.
Brian Holman, Mariners … April 20, 1990
On April 20, 1990, the Mariners’ Brian Holman retired the first 26 hitters (six strikeouts), shutting down the defending World Champion Oakland A’s. Holman had a perfecto and a comfortable 6-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, before giving up a first-pitch home run to pinch hitter Ken Phelps (and, of course, losing the perfect game, no-hitter and shutout). It was Phelps only home run of the 1990 season and the last of his 123 career round trippers. Holman then struck out Rickey Henderson for the final out in a 6-1 Mariners’ win. It was one of only two complete games in Holman’s four MLB seasons (37-45, 3.71). Holman finished the 1990 season 11-11, 4.03 – the only season he finished at .500 or better. He played for the Expos and Mariners (1988-91).
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Milt Wilcox, Tigers … April 15, 1983
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth – in an early-season game (April 15, 1983) – Tigers’ right-hander Milt Wilcox had yet to allow a White Sox hitter to reach base (and had struck out eight). Pinch hitter Jerry Hairston ended that with his first hit of the season – a clean single. (As with the hit that broke up Brian Holman’s perfect game, Hairston’s came on the first pitch of his at bat.) Wilcox retired the next batter (CF Rudy Law) for a 6-0 (one-hitter) win. Wilcox finished the season 11-10, 3.97. He won 119 games (113 losses) in 18 MLB seasons (1970-75, 1977-86) with the Reds, Cubs, Tigers, Mariners. His career ERA was 4.07, with 73 complete games and 10 shutouts. Wilcox’ best season was 1984, when he went 17-8, 4.00.
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Billy Pierce, White Sox … June 27, 1958
White Sox’ lefty Billy Pierce was on a roll when he faced the Senators on June 27, 1958. Despite a slow start to the season (his record was 6-5 on the year), Pierce was coming off back-to-back complete-game shutouts of the Red Sox and Orioles. Pierce retired the first 26 hitters he faced (eight strikeouts) and then gave up a double to Senators’ pinch hitter Ed FitzGerald before striking out AL 1958 Rookie of the Year Albie Pearson to gain a 3-0 win (and his third consecutive,complete-game shutout).
Pierce finished the season 17-11, 2.68. He was a seven-time All Star and two-time twenty-game winner and won 211 games (versus 169 losses) with a 3.27 in 18 MLB seasons (1945, 1948-64). He threw 193 complete games and 38 shutouts.
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Tommy Bridges, Tigers … August 5, 1932
On August 5, 1932, the Tigers’ Tommy Bridges was coasting along with a 13-0 lead, seven strikeouts and a perfect game with two outs in the ninth, when he gave up a single to Washington Senators’ pinch-hitter Dave Harris. Bridges then got the final out for a 13-0 win. Bridges went 14-12, 3.36 that season, but hit his stride two years later – winning 20+ games in 1934, 1935 and 1936. The six-time All Star finished a 16-season MLB career (1930-43, 1945-46) with a 194-138, 3.57 record. He pitched 200 complete games and recorded 33 shutouts.
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