Drew Rasmussen on Sunday nearly threw Major League Baseball’s first perfect game in a decade, but the bid ended in the top of the ninth inning.
Rasmussen was perfect through eight innings against the Baltimore Orioles when shortstop Jorge Mateo belted a double down the third base line. The hit came on the first pitch of the ninth inning.
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Rasmussen had only 79 pitches at the time, so his pitch count was not an issue. He wound up allowing one earned run following a ground ball and wild pitch. The right-hander was then replaced by Jason Adam, who struck out the final two Orioles batters to preserve a 4-1 victory for the Rays. Rasmussen finished with seven strikeouts and allowed only the one hit over 8.1 innings.
There are typically multiple no-hitters per MLB season, but perfect games are a much more rare feat. Monday will mark 10-years since former Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game against — as luck would have it — the Rays.
Rasmussen was just three outs away, but MLB fans will have to keep waiting for the next perfect game.
