King for a day: Local hurler soars in debut

Sierra Vista product perfect into seventh

PITTSBURGH — Nick Kingham waited a long, long time to make it to a major league mound. When the Sierra Vista High School product finally got there, the moment was nearly perfect.

Kingham started out better than any pitcher in more than a half-century, taking a perfect game into the seventh inning of his big league debut and leading the Pittsburgh Pirates over the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0 Sunday.

Kingham retired the first 20 batters before Paul Dejong singled down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh.

“That’s how you plan it up, not to let anybody on,” Kingham said. “It’s incredible how it happened. Just kind of starting from the get-go, it went well. … It’s corny, but it took everybody. I’m really fortunate and really happy about it.”

The Elias Sports Bureau said no pitcher in the Expansion Era — since 1961 — had taken a perfect game bid so far in his debut. Wayne Simpson of the Reds in 1970 and Ken Cloude of the Mariners in 1997 each set down their first 16 batters.

“I was like, ‘You know what, it was a good run, man. It was fun while it lasted,’” Kingham said.

Once a top Pirates prospect, drafted in the fourth round in 2010, Kingham’s path to the majors was interrupted by Tommy John surgery.

The 26-year-old was 43-41 during nine seasons in the minors before getting called up from Triple-a Indianapolis, where he was 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in four starts, before the game for a spot start.

Kingham joined Johnny Cueto in 2008 as the lone pitchers in the past 100 years to give up one hit, strike out at least nine and walk none in his debut. Cueto started his career with five perfect innings.

The crowd at PNC Park gave Kingham a big ovation after Dejong’s hit. Kingham then retired Marcell Ozuna on a grounder, and the fans stood and cheered while the rookie walked off the field and waved.

Kingham was taken out after seven innings. He fanned nine and threw 98 pitches, 72 for strikes.