Giants’ Cain hurls a perfect game
Matt Cain pitched the 22nd perfect game in majorleague history and the first for the San Francisco Giants, striking out a career-high 14 batters and getting help from two running catches to beat the visiting Houston Astros 10-0 on Wednesday.
Cain’s 125-pitch masterpiece featured a pair of great plays by his corner outfielders — a leaping catch by Melky Cabrera on the warning track in left in the sixth inning and a diving catch by Gregor Blanco in rightcenter in the seventh — and he retired pinch hitter Jason Castro on a grounder to third for the final out with the sellout crowd of 42,298 roaring.
Cain (8-2) joined the White Sox’ Philip Humber (April 21), the Los Angeles Angels’ Jered Weaver (May 2), the New York Mets’ Johan Santana (June 1) and six Seattle Mariners (June 8) on the nohit list this season. Humber’s also was a perfect game.
Dickey tosses one-hitter
R.A. Dickey allowed only an infield single to B.J. Upton in the first inning on his way to his second career one-hitter, struck out a career-high 12 and broke the Mets’ record for consecutive scoreless innings in a 9-1 victory against the host Tampa Bay Rays.
Dickey (10-1) became the first 10-game winner in the major leagues — beating the St. Louis Cardinals’ Lance Lynn by about an hour — and ran his scoreless streak to 32⅔ innings before yielding an unearned run in the ninth. The old Mets record of 31⅔ scoreless innings in a row was set by Jerry Koosman in 1973.
Best of the rest
Tyler Moore hit the first two home runs of his bigleague career and drove in five runs, and the Washington Nationals completed a perfect 6-0 road trip with a 6-2 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Curtis Granderson hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning, and the New York Yankees finished their second consecutive threegame sweep by edging the host Atlanta Braves 3-2.
Brandon Phillips had three hits, including a two-run homer, and three RBI to fuel the Cincinnati Reds past the visiting Cleveland Indians 5-3.