Kenny Rogers pitched the 12th perfect game in modern major-league history, saved by a diving catch in the ninth inning Thursday night in the Texas Rangers’ 4-0 victory over the California Angels.
Rogers (11-6), who became a full-time starter only last season, was helped when rookie center-fielder Rusty Greer made a diving catch in right-center on Rex Hudler’s leadoff liner in the ninth.
Rogers became the first left-hander to pitch a perfect game in the American League. It was the first perfect game since Dennis Martinez did it for Montreal exactly three years earlier in a 2-0 victory over Los Angeles.
“I never thought about a perfect game. I was thinking about the no-hitter until the last out,” Rogers said.
“I just threw strikes. I got ahead of a lot of hitters, and that helped a lot,” he said.
The last perfect game in the AL was by Mike Witt for the Angels against Texas on Sept. 30, 1984, the last day of the season.
Rogers struck out eight, four swinging and four looking. He went to a three-ball count seven times, including on four straight batters starting with two out in the sixth, but retired them all.
Rogers got a standing ovation from the crowd of 46,581 at The Ballpark when he took the mound to start the ninth.
Hudler fell behind 0-2, then sliced a liner to right-center. Greer ran in and over, dived and made a back-handed grab.
“I was going to give it my best effort whether I caught it or not,” Greer said. “No matter what, I was going to dive. I got a pretty good jump, just dove and it fell in my glove.”
The catch was similar to the one center-fielder Robin Yount made in right-center against Eddie Murray for the final out in a no-hitter by Juan Nieves for Milwaukee in Baltimore on April 15, 1987.
Rogers got the last two outs without much trouble, retiring Chris Turner on a grounder to shortstop and Gary DiSarcina on a routine fly to Greer.
Rogers is the third left-hander to pitch a perfect game, joining Sandy Koufax in 1965 and Tom Browning in 1988.
