This is surely an unusual situation. Usually when a team achieves a perfect game in regulation and maintains a no-hitter in extras, there’s a pretty good chance they won the game. That wasn’t the case with the Tampa Tarpons, as they lost 1-0 to the Clearwater Threshers.
Deivi Garcia had seven innings of perfect pitching for the Yankees Single-A affiliate. In Single-A ball, games are only seven innings so he pitched a perfect game in regulation against the Phillies affiliate.
Because minor league games have a runner start the inning on second base, no one knows if that still maintains a perfect game. Either way, Garcia was replaced and the Tarpons committed an error, losing the perfect game. Despite that, the no-hitter was still on and the runner scored on a fielders choice. So the Tarpons lost 1-0 despite a team no-hitter.
That’s what’s great about baseball. No matter how old the game is, there’s always something we haven’t seen before. There have been times where teams have had no-hitters and lost games but now that there is a new rule about a runner being on second base in extra innings, it brings a new wrinkle to what a perfect game exactly is.
[NBC Sports/Photo: Mark LoMoglio/Tampa Tarpons]
If you don’t know, it could be that you don’t want to know. As long as it doesn’t prevent you from going home to your significant other, you should be OK.
For the rest of us, you already explained the scenario in your article. It is a no-hitter, but not a perfecto. Now calm down and go home.
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