Yusmeiro Petit missed out on throwing a perfect game Friday night when he allowed pinch-hitter Eric Chavez to drive a single to right field on a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the ninth inning.
Petit was making just his fourth start of the season for the San Francisco Giants and came close to perfection. He sat down the first 26 Arizona Diamondbacks batters he faced until Chavez knocked a solid single to right. Right fielder Hunter Pence came close to making a diving catch to preserve the perfecto, but the ball dropped in for the only Arizona hit of the game. You may recall that Pence made a spectacular catch in July to keep Tim Lincecum’s no-hitter intact.
Petit completed the 1-hit shutout against his former team, striking out 7 to improve to 3-0. It was his first career complete game. He entered the game with a 5.37 ERA over six seasons.
Petit coming so close but being unable to complete the perfect game is a good reminder why there’s only been 23 perfect games in MLB history.
