MLB History: Pedro Martinez and the Perfect Game That Wasn’t

A perfect game is a rare feat in the MLB, with only 23 perfect games having been pitched. On this day, Pedro Martinez joined Harvey Haddix as the only player to pitch a perfect game for nine innings, only to lose the gem in extras.

Pedro Martinez was one of the most dominant pitchers in recent baseball history. Despite his smaller frame, Martinez would attack any hitter, using his fastball and excellent command in his early days to thwart the opposition. Seemingly any time he went to the mound, one had the feeling that someone special could occur.

One of those magical moments came on this day in 1995. Pitching for the Montreal Expos, Martinez matched up against the San Diego Padres. While he was not yet that star pitcher that he would become, he had displayed flashes of dominance from time to time. On this day, everything came together for Martinez, aside from a run in the first nine innings.

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For in those nine innings against the Padres, Martinez was perfect. He struck out nine, shutting San Diego completely down. Unfortunately for the Expos, they had only managed to get five baserunners, three hits and two walks, in Joey Hamilton‘s nine shutout innings. Martinez would need to go into extra frames if he was to get that perfect game.

The Expos did score in the top of the tenth against reliever Brian Williams. With one out, Shane Andrews singled, and after Lou Frazier walked with two down, Jeff Treadway singled to right to bring home the game’s first run.

Now, Martinez just needed to get three more outs. Instead, Bip Roberts greeted him with a double, lashing his 2-0 offering to right. That would be all for Martinez, as Mel Rojas came in to lock down the win. After a wild pitch moved Roberts to third, Rojas managed to escape the jam and preserve the 1-0 victory.

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Pedro Martinez made MLB history, although not in the way he would have liked, as he became the second pitcher to lose a perfect game after nine innings. However, unlike Haddix, he still earned the victory.