By Patrick
 |
| Bow down to the King |
For at least a day yesterday, Felix Hernandez made us forget how painful the rebuilding process is by hurling the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history. He was truly unblemished from start to finish, and what follows is an annotated recap of all 27 at bats Felix conquered on the way to crowning himself King of baseball for a while.
First Inning
Sam Fuld flies out to Eric Thames, in what was perhaps the most dramatic out of the 27. Thames ranged all the way to his right, deep into the gap, and cut into the shade at the very end of his run. Still, he was able to backhand it to retire Fuld. Every perfect game seems to have a defining defensive play. Debatably, this was that play.
BJ Upton grounds out to Brendan Ryan, who had to get to his left in the hole to scoop and throw out Upton. On a day when the Rays had pretty much zero balls in play that looked like hits, this one got close I guess. Good play by the future gold glover Ryan.
Matt Joyce grounds out to Dustin Ackley, but he ripped a pitch up in the zone. Fortunately, Ackley was in the right position, and played it on a hop, making it look a lot easier than it was.
Second Inning
Evan Longoria strikes out swinging, on a nasty curveball at 81 MPH from Felix. The pitch wasn't far out of the zone, but it certainly ended up in a completely different place than Longoria saw coming.
Ben Zobrist bounces out to Brendan Ryan, who was essentially playing second base due to the huge shift Zobrist gets. Easy play for Brendan.
Carlos Pena flies out to left fielder Trayvon Robinson, who moved into the gap to make the catch. The fly ball was pretty harmless and shallow, and Trayvon took it easily.
Third Inning
Jose Lobaton flies out to Eric Thames in right, who makes a routine catch coming in. Not threatening at all, and Lobaton was first pitch swinging.
Elliot Johnson strikes out swinging, on another nasty breaking ball in the dirt. Jaso scoops it up and throws to first, as Johnson makes the "I had no idea where that pitch was" walk of shame up the baseline.
Sean Rodriguez flies out to Robinson, and his swing made it look a lot scarier that it was. He seemed to smack the 93 MPH fastball that was middle-middle, but it ended up looking eerily similar to Pena's flyout to end the second. For what it's worth, Felix has 24 pitches through three innings at this point.
Fourth Inning
Sam Fuld lines out to Kyle Seager, who played it perfectly, otherwise Fuld might have been on base. Fuld took a 3-2 pitch the other way, but on this day, every Mariner was right where they need to be.
BJ Upton strikes out swinging, and had no clue. Felix buried breaking balls like no one I've ever seen before yesterday, and this one was no exception. Perfect pitch for his third strikeout of the afternoon.
Matt Joyce strikes out swinging, and he had no chance against the change up Felix threw him in that spot. 90 MPH with deceptive speed and great motion? Good luck.
Fifth Inning
Evan Longoria lines out to Ackley, on a pretty weakly hit flare that Dustin had time to track and snag. Longoria, who has keyed the Rays' recent run of success, looked pretty vulnerable on this day. Then again, so did the entire Rays lineup, coaching staff, and front office.
Ben Zobrist flies out to Robinson, on what was the deepest fly ball after the first out of the game. It checked up nicely for Trayvon, who got under it for the out. This was the final fly ball of the game for the Rays. In the fifth. Long live the King.
Carlos Pena grounds out to John Jaso, in a freaky play that could have easily broken up the perfecto had Jaso rushed his play. It was like a poor man's Baltimore chop, but Jaso barehanded comfortably and made a good throw to Smoak.
Sixth Inning
Jose Lobaton strikes out swinging, on the gold ol' change up. For real though, how is a no-name guy like Jose Lobaton supposed to hit Felix on a day like yesterday? Answer, he doesn't. Five K's for Felix at this point.
Elliot Johnson strikes out swinging, on yet another nasty change up. This one had a little more bite to it than the one to Lobaton, but regardless, Johnson had no prayer of hitting it.
Sean Rodriguez strikes out swinging, producing probably the ugliest of Felix's 12 strikeouts from a hitting perspective. Felix threw him a slider, and Rodriguez pitifully attempted to check his swing as the pitch dove hopelessly away from him. Felix struck out the side in the sixth, but I would argue this wasn't even his best inning.
Seventh Inning
Sam Fuld grounds out to Ackley, after fisting a high fastball. Felix used every pitch to get him outs on Wednesday, and here he used his fastball to create weak contact. He had command that shouldn't exist in nature yesterday.
BJ Upton grounds out to Ryan, on the nerviest play of the entire perfecto. Upton bounced it into the hole on the left side, and Seager attempted a hero dive to save the perfect game. Fortunately, Seager wasn't even close, so the ball squirted past him and through to Ryan, who fielded cleanly and came up throwing to get the speedy Upton at first. This play goes in the voting for the defining defensive play, even though Ryan made it look routine.
Matt Joyce grounds out to Smoak, on a 3-2 pitch. Remember, Felix can't throw a ball, otherwise his perfection is spoiled. Picking a pitch in that spot must have been so difficult. As Dave Sims said, "we're getting into nitty gritty time folks." Six more outs.
Eighth Inning
Evan Longoria strikes out swinging, on perhaps the nastiest breaking ball Felix has ever conceived. Longoria knew he was gone right as he started his swing, and Felix just snapped that curve down and buried it in Jaso's glove an inch off the ground. Yet another incredible pitch from the King.
Ben Zobrist strikes out swinging, on a change up that broke away from him like he had the plague. It ran away from him like it was trying to outrun Usain Bolt. Other references to how awesome it was.
Carlos Pena strikes out swinging, on another curveball from Felix. This inning, as a whole, was one of the best innings of pitching I've ever seen. He took the three most powerful Rays hitters, and toyed with them, striking out the side after having already thrown 90 pitches. He hardly threw a fastball in the inning, but after his performance in the eighth, you just kind of knew he was going to finish this one out. Ten strikeouts now.
Ninth Inning
Desmond Jennings strikes out swinging, on a 1-2 change up that broke at him. That must be a really scary reality to face. Felix's change up just snapping at you at essentially the same speed as his heater. Best pitch in baseball. Two more outs.
Jeff Keppinger grounds out to Ryan, and at this point the Rays are just trying to find the ball with the bat. They've pinch hit twice in a row with good players, trying to confuse Felix and throw him off his game just a little bit, and they pretty much had zero success. Felix has to get it now. One more out.
Sean Rodriguez strikes out looking, marking the first Ray to watch strike three all day. Sure, Felix threw him an absolutely perfect change up, that not only broke at him but also painted the inside corner. But don't you have to swing? You just can't sit there and watch history as a hitter. No matter though. Felix finishes off the perfecto with his twelfth strikeout of the day and is mobbed by his teammates at the mound. The Jackson Generals start dancing in Tennessee, the entire of country of Venezuela erupts into hysteria, and ESPN decides to put Felix in front of Melky Cabrera on the rundown for Sportscenter.
Felix was perfect, in command of all of pitches, and thoroughly deserved to go down in history for yesterday's performance. Go Mariners, and Happy Felix Day.
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