This is the face of perfection:
The Seattle Mariner's Felix Hernandez is now a part of baseball lore, joining 22 others when he threw a perfect game in a 1-0 win against the Tampa Bay Rays, this afternoon.
That means Hernandez retired 27 batters in a row, throwing 113 pitches, 77 of them strikes. No one got on base.
What's incredible is that this is the third perfect game this season. USA Today reports:
"After Hernandez struck out Sean Rodriguez looking to end the game and secure the1-0 win, the Mariners streamed onto the field and mobbed Hernandez and fans waved yellow 'K' posters. It was the 23rd perfect game in major-league history, and the fifth since May 2010.
"'I don't have any words to explain this. When Phil Hughes almost had his perfect game here I said I have to have one,' Hernandez said after the game. 'I realized in the third. I was like, wow, nobody on base.
"'My whole family is in Venezuela so nobody is here so I celebrate with all of you,' he said pointing to the fans."
This is the first perfect game for the Mariners franchise.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
