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.
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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