Mark Buehrle bought watches for his teammates two years ago after throwing his first no-hitter.
He might want to purchase a special gift for Dewayne Wise after Wise made the most dramatic catch of his career in the ninth inning Thursday to preserve Buehrle’s perfect game in the 5-0 victory over the Rays.
“This one will probably be a lot more expensive,” Buehrle said after Wise robbed Gabe Kapler of a home run.
Wise had been inserted into center field for defensive purposes in the top of the ninth when Kapler launched a drive to left-center. Wise had played shallow because he didn’t want Buehrle to lose his perfect bid on a bloop hit or broken-bat single.
“Right away, I took my eyes off it because I wanted to make up some ground,” Wise said. “But I looked up and said, ‘Wow, this might be one of those plays where I have to run through the wall to catch it or try to rob a home run.'”
Wise leaped over the fence to make the catch as he hit the wall. Then the ball came out of his glove for a moment as he started falling, but he grabbed it quickly with his bare hand before hitting the warning track.
“I couldn’t really feel it going into my glove, so I thought it was falling,” Wise said. “I saw it slowly rolling out of my glove, and that’s when I stuck my left hand out there and caught it.”
Wise said Buehrle gave him a hug and thanked him.
“That’s all that matters,” Wise said.
And a check?
“If that’s what he wants to do,” he said, “I’ll accept it.”
