Giants pitcher Yusmeiro Petit flirts with perfect game against Diamondbacks
By Brad Rowland
The 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history seemed to be within the grasp of San Francisco Giants right-hander Yusmeiro Petit on Friday, but with just one swing, it was over.
Petit faced 26 batters and retired 26 batters against the Diamondbacks in flirting with a perfect game, but pinch-hitter Eric Chavez guided a 3-2 offering into right field to break up the bid. Fortunately, Petit recovered and retired the next batter for a sparkling, 1-hit shutout, but the closeness to the achievement had to be a little bit heartbreaking.
In just his 4th start of the 2013 season, Petit needed only 95 pitches to dispatch of the Arizona lineup. His arsenal of off-speed pitches baffled the Diamondbacks from start to finish, and frankly, it was only an incredible at-bat from Chavez that could have derailed his effort. Petit struck out 7 hitters through his complete-game effort, and although his career stats (5.37 ERA) don’t indicate that it was sustainable, he certainly looked the part.
The Giants were led offensively by Hunter Pence, who scored all 3 runs for San Francisco, but fittingly, the only hit of the game landed just in front of the right-fielder. However, this night belonged to Petit, and even if he never gets this close to history again, you have to tip your cap to the 28-year-old.