Felix Hernandez pitches perfect game for Mariners

Felix Hernandez pitched the Seattle Mariners' first perfect game and the 23rd in baseball history, overpowering the Tampa Bay Rays in a brilliant 1-0 victory on Wednesday.

The 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner long has talked of his desire to achieve pitching perfection. He finally accomplished it against the Rays, striking out the side twice and finishing with 12 strikeouts.

It was the third perfect game in baseball this season -- a first -- joining gems by Chicago's Philip Humber against the Mariners in April and San Francisco's Matt Cain against Houston in June. More than half of all perfectos -- 12 -- have come in the past 25 seasons.

This also was the sixth no-hitter in the majors this season, three of them at Safeco Field. Humber threw his gem in Seattle, then six Mariners pitchers combined to hold the Los Angeles Dodgers hitless at the park on June 8. Prior to Wednesday, no team has ever had a combined no-hitter and a complete game no-hitter in the same season.

"I don't have any words to explain this," Hernandez said to the crowd, speaking on the field after the final out. "I've been working so hard to throw one and today is for you guys."

The Venezuelan-born Felix Hernandez is the second player born in Latin America to throw a perfect game. Dennis Martinez, born in Nicaragua, threw a perfect game in 1991.

^ And apparently it was also the first time a team (Seattle) threw a no-hitter and got no-hit (by Chicago) in the same season.

Dodgers get routed by the Pirates, 10-6.

Dodgers lose to the Braves, 4-3, and drop out of first place.

Dodgers beat the Braves, 6-2.

Dodger shut out the Braves, 5-0, and move back into first place in the NL West.

Next up: three games with the Giants at Dodger Stadium starting on Monday.


Also:

Suzuki, Kuroda lead Yankees past Red Sox 4-1

Ichiro Suzuki homered twice and Hiroki Kuroda pitched eight innings of four-hit ball to lead the New York Yankees past Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Sunday night.

Dodgers on the verge of getting swept by the Giants... At Dodger Stadium.

What an embarrassment.

EDIT: Dodgers lose, 8-4, and now trail the Giants by 2-1/2 games.

Dodgers rout the Marlins, 11-4.

Dodgers rout the Marlins again, 8-2.

Adrian Gonzalez's first at-bat and hit with the Dodgers is a three-run home run.

Looks like the Dodgers are becoming "Evil Empire West" and trying to buy a championship. The Dodgers are saying there is no truth to the rumor that upper deck tickets (currently $12) will start at $800 next year.

Meanwhile, in more bad news for the Red Sox:

Dice-K to start Monday against the Royals

BOSTON, Aug. 26 (17:06) Kyodo


Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka will be activated off the 15-day disabled list for a start Monday at home against the Kansas City Royals, manager Bobby Valentine said Saturday.

The 31-year-old Matsuzaka, who has been sidelined with a neck injury, was initially supposed to make another start with Triple-A Pawtucket, but will get a shot now after the departure of Josh Beckett to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The move is part of Valentine's roster shakeup with Aaron Cook taking Beckett's start Saturday followed by Felix Doubront and Matsuzaka, who was placed on the DL July 3 with a right upper trapezius strain.

Matsuzaka, who holds a 49-33 record in the majors, returned in June after a one-year layoff due to Tommy John surgery, but is 0-3 with a 6.65 ERA in just five starts since his return.

Japan takes LLWS title, beats Tenn. 12-2

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) -- Noriatsu Osaka hit three homers and tripled, and Japan limited Tennessee's potent lineup to two hits in a 12-2 victory Sunday in the Little League World Series title game.

Starter Kotaro Kiyomiya struck out eight in four innings and added an RBI single for the boys from Tokyo. The game ended in the fifth after Osaka's third homer made it a 10-run game.

A day after pounding out a 24-16 win over California in the U.S. title game, the Goodlettsville, Tenn., sluggers could only muster two hits - solo shots by Brock Myers and Lorenzo Butler.

The teams exchanged the customary postgame handshakes at the plate before Japan received the World Series championship banner and took the traditional victory lap around Lamade Stadium.

Carrying the flags of Japan and the United States with wide smiles on their faces, the players finally stopped in front of Japan's giddy cheering section as proud family members and friends stood shoulder-to-shoulder to take pictures through the infield fence.

There were many highlights, including five home runs off Tennessee pitching. Rintaro Hirano's three-run shot made it 10-1 in the fourth.

That was more than enough offense for 13-year-old ace Kiyomiya, who had a fastball clocked in the high-70s, The right-hander with the hitch in mid-delivery pitched like a big-league ace in allowing just one hit.

Regardless, this is still a banner year for Goodlettsville after its exhausting victory Saturday over Petaluma, Calif., for the U.S. championship. That game set a record for most combined runs in the World Series.

The thrilling victory kept the Tennessee players and their families up late into the night.

''We knew we would be flat today - their parents and these kids,'' manager Joey Hale said.

Tennessee lost a 10-run lead in the bottom of the sixth before scoring nine times the next inning to finally put away Petaluma in a Little League classic. Even more impressively, Butler had three homers and a record nine RBIs - a feat so unique the 12-year-old's name became a trending topic on Twitter.

Butler went deep again off reliever Osaka in the fifth - Butler's fourth homer in two days - to cut the lead to 10-2 and give Goodlettsvile some home hope. Tennessee's mini-mashers have proven they can break out any time at the plate.

''It felt good, it felt really, really, good,'' Butler said simply about his hitting exploits.

Its pitching depth sapped, Tennessee turned to right-hander Justin Smith to start against Japan - the first time the 12-year-old had pitched in the World Series or in Southeast regional tournament.

Leadoff hitter Osaka, 12, didn't waste any time with a first-pitch triple to the right-field corner in the first. Kiyomiya delivered his RBI single two batters later to get the scoring started.

Osaka then homered in the second to left-center, just in front of the ''Little League'' sign above the fence, before leading off the fourth with his second homer, this time to center, for a 6-1 lead.

Osaka finished a perfect 4 for 4 on the afternoon with four runs and four RBIs.

The Kitasuna league all-star team from Tokyo won Japan's eighth Little League title and second in three seasons.

Dodgers lose to the Marlins, 6-2, missing an opportunity to gain on the Giants who lost to the Braves, 7-1.

gaijinmark wrote:

Meanwhile, in more bad news for the Red Sox: Dice-K to start Monday against the Royals

And just to show that anything can happen, and probably will, Dice-K pitched great, 7 innings, 5 hits, 6 K's, 1 run (unearned) and the Sox beat KC, 5-1. For Dice-K that was his 50th win in the majors.

Dodgers getting pummeled by the Rockies in Colorado, 10-0, in the 9th.

Not the Josh Beckett debut the Dodgers were hoping for.

Dodgers get routed by the Rockies again, 8-4.

I hate to see Gonzalez go, but I guess that's the price to get rid of Beckett and Crawford.

Right now the organization has fans on board with the "we're cleaning up Theo's mess." That won't last long if the playoff drought continues more seasons.

Dodgers finally beat the Rockies, 10-8, despite Colorado's 7-run eighth inning.

Jav_sol wrote:

Right now the organization has fans on board with the "we're cleaning up Theo's mess." That won't last long if the playoff drought continues more seasons.

Stuck in the AL East that's going to be hard. Along with the Yankees and Tampa Bay, Baltimore has suddenly gotten very good as well.

Dodgers lose to the D-backs, 2-0, and fall 4-1/2 games out of the top in the NL.

gaijinmark wrote:

Stuck in the AL East that's going to be hard. Along with the Yankees and Tampa Bay, Baltimore has suddenly gotten very good as well.

Yeah, even this year there were many that didn't have the Sox making the playoffs. But nobody thought this team would be such a mess. Even with the new wildcard, there is still Texas and the Angels to compete with.