Matt Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in MLB history on Wednesday night, and an impressive catch by Gregor Blanco helped make it possible.
Jordan Schafer led off the 7th inning with a drive deep to the right of center. It was a ball that the center fielder typically would have caught, but Angel Pagan was playing Schafer to hit to the opposite field, and luckily Blanco was there to make a diving catch at the warning track.
Cain was impressed by the catch, and said after the game “When Blanco makes that catch in center field, I literally felt everybody on the mound with me. The whole stadium was electric there. It was unbelievable.”
Cain tied a perfect game record by striking out 14 batters, and his perfecto was the first in Giants history. Perhaps the next most surprising event of the night is that Cain actually got excellent run support for a change. The Giants belted three two-run home runs and won 10-0.
The perfect game improved Cain’s record to 8-2 and lowered the underrated pitcher’s ERA to 2.18.
Blanco deserves plenty of praise for his catch, but when it comes to preserving perfect games, this incredible grab is still the best.
