By Paul Semendinger
June 29, 2023
Cover Photo Credit: Stan Szeto | Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
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About Last Night:
Domingo German, who had struggled of late, joined a very exclusive group of Yankees pitchers, throwing the fourth Perfect Game in the team's history. German joins Don Larsen, Davis Wells, and David Cone in being the only pitchers to throw a Perfect Game for the Yankees. The "perfecto" was the 24th such game in MLB history and the first since 2012 when Felix Hernandez threw one for the Mariners..
Also of note, the Yankees scored eleven runs! This was highlighted by a six run fifth inning.
Quick Stats:
Domingo German - 9 innings, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 runs, 9 strikeouts
Giancarlo Stanton - 2 hits, including a home run - 3 RBI's
Josh Donaldson, 1 hit, 2 RBI's
Anthony Volpe - 2 hits (he is now over .200 for the season at .208)
The Yankees are the first MLB team to have four pitchers with Perfect Games.
The Big Story:
The big story, of course, is Domingo German. If ever there was an unlikely pitcher to throw a Perfect Game it was him. HIs previous two starts had pitched very poorly (he had allowed 15 runs over 5 1/3 innings). He had earlier been suspended for using sticky substances on his hands... In short, the 2023 season was not going well for him.
Last night, if only for a night, he turned it all around.
Player of the Game:
Domingo German (of course)
Notable Performances:
I am not a believer that one game can turn around a season or a career, but last night, the Yankees, who have not been scoring runs, saw some players show some life. Giancarlo Stanton homed Anthony Volpe had two more hits, Josh Donaldson drove in runs...
Kyle Higashioka called his second no-hitter as a Yankees catcher. He caught Corey Kluber's no-hitter in 2021.
Aaron Judge was on the field and playing catch before the game. That is a step in the right direction as well.
My Take:
This has been a frustrating year for the Yankees and their fans.
For one night, a great deal went right. Let's celebrate that!
Next Up:
Clarke Schmidt takes the mound this afternoon (3:37 p.m.) against former Yankees' prospect James Kaprielian.
OK, here's another bit of trivia, pitching lines for the start before the perfect game:
Don Larsen (WS Game 2, BTW): 1.2 IP, 1 H, 4 R, 0 ER, 0 K, 4 BB, Game Score 41
David Wells: 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 9 K, 1 BB, GS 72 (pretty good!)
David Cone: 7.0 IP, 12 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 5 K, 1 BB, GS 33
Domingo German: 3.1 IP, 8 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 4 K, 2 BB, GS 10
Almost as shocking as the perfecto is the fact that German threw a complete game.
So here's my question: When they do Yankees Classics, do the announcers get residuals? Nelson probably doesn't need the money (having earned over $20 million in his career), but I bet Ruocco could use the extra scratch.
The beauty of baseball ………… a perfecto….. Well done Domingo German!
excellent pitching is a great deodorant.
~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings