Felix Hernandez struck out 12 in Wednesday's perfecto.
Bow down to the King.
Seattle Mariners pitcher “King” Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays, striking out five hitters over the final two frames of a 1-0 victory at Safeco Field.
It was the first perfect game in the Mariners’ 35-year history and the fourth no-hitter for the franchise. It was the third perfect a game of the season and the 23rd perfecto in MLB history.
“Oh man, I don’t have any words to explain this,” Hernandez told the crows afterward. “… I had to throw one. I’ve been working so hard for you guys.”
This is becoming quite a season for MLB pitchers at Safeco. In April in Seattle, Chicago White Sox hurler Philip Humber threw a perfect game against the Mariners. Matt Cain also threw a no hitter this year in the National League.
But on this day, it was the Mariners mobbing the pitcher at the end of the game after Hernandez struck out 12 and retired all 27 batters he faced.
A look at Hernandez’s line from the game:
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | PC-ST | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Hernandez(W, 11-5) | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 113-77 | 2.60 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 113-77 | |
| First-pitch strikes/Batters faced: Hernandez 16/27Called strikes-Swinging strikes-Foul balls-In Play strikes: Hernandez 18-26-18-15Ground Balls-Fly Balls: Hernandez 8-7
Game Scores: Hernandez 99 |
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With the win, Hernandez moved to 11-5 on the season, dropping his ERA to 2.60.
A look at the no-hitters thrown in 2012:
| MLB No-Hitters | ||||||
| DATE | PITCHER | TEAM | OPPONENT | SCORE | LEAGUE | NOTES |
| 8/15/2012 | Felix Hernandez | SEA | TB | 1-0 | AL | Perfect Game |
| 6/13/2012 | Matt Cain | SF | HOU | 10-0 | NL | Perfect Game |
| 6/8/2012 | Kevin Millwood (6 inn.) | SEA | LAD | 1-0 | AL | Combined |
| + 5 relievers | ||||||
| 6/1/2012 | Johan Santana | NYM | STL | 8-0 | NL | |
| 5/2/2012 | Jered Weaver | LAA | MIN | 9-0 | AL | |
| 4/21/2012 | Philip Humber | CHW | SEA | 4-0 | AL | Perfect Game |
