Former Major League pitcher Thomas Pannone threw a nine-inning perfect game Monday night, leading the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to a 3-0 win over the Durham Bulls. The 32-year-old southpaw incredibly retired all 27 batters he faced on just 94 pitches.
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Pannone put together an unblemished stat line, racking up nine shutout innings with zero hits, zero walks, and eight strikeouts.
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It marks the first nine-inning, single-pitcher perfect game across Minor League Baseball since 2017. It is also just the fifth solo perfect game in the 142-year history of the International League, dating back to 1884.
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The Brewers southpaw pitched with total command, but perfection didn’t come without a late dose of drama.
Falling into a tight 3-0 hole against the 27th and final batter in the bottom of the ninth, Pannone faced the immediate risk of a game-ruining walk. Instead, he fired consecutive strikes to battle all the way back, retiring the hitter to lock up the final out.
For this left-hander, flirting with baseball history is nothing new.
During a 49-game run with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2018 to 2019, Pannone carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his Big League debut against Baltimore. In 2019, he threw an immaculate inning against Tampa Bay, striking out the side on nine consecutive pitches.
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Since leaving Toronto in 2020, Pannone has taken the classic journeyman route.
Pannone worked through the Cubs, Angels, and Yankees’ minor league systems, alongside a pitching stint in the Korean Baseball Organization. He earned a spot start for Milwaukee earlier this summer, marking his first MLB appearance in three years, before returning to Triple-A.
Another shot in the bigs doesn’t seem far out of Pannone’s future.
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