WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Eury Pérez was pulled after pitching seven perfect innings Sunday, and the Miami Marlins nearly blew an eight-run lead before holding on for a 9-8 victory over the Athletics.
Marlins reliever Lake Bachar replaced Pérez to start the eighth and issued a leadoff walk to Lawrence Butler as fans booed. That was the first baserunner for the A's, and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer then dunked a pop-fly single into shallow right field
for their first hit.
Carlos Cortes followed with an RBI double, Max Muncy walked and Jonah Heim launched a grand slam that shaved Miami's lead to 8-5.
Brian Serven singled to chase Bachar, who didn't retire any of the six batters he faced. Michael Petersen got through the eighth without any more damage, and Miami tacked on an insurance run in the ninth. That proved critical when closer Pete Fairbanks gave up three runs in the bottom half before finally closing it out.
The 23-year-old Pérez, who has never tossed a complete game in his major league career, set down all 21 hitters he faced with eight strikeouts. He threw 92 pitches, 56 for strikes, before Miami manager Clayton McCullough went to his bullpen.
It was the most pitches Pérez has thrown in three starts since returning from the injured list June 24. He had been sidelined since late May because of a bizarre leg injury sustained while he was stretching in the dugout.
Pérez was initially expected to miss about two months with a high-grade strain of his right gracilis — a long, thin muscle on the inside of the thigh. He exited a May 27 outing in Toronto after throwing four shutout innings because his right hamstring spasmed while he was doing lateral lunges on the bench to limber up for the fifth. He was in such pain he needed assistance from a teammate to descend the steps into the clubhouse.
The 6-foot-8 Pérez was facing the A’s for the first time since his rookie season of 2023. He induced seven groundouts and six flyouts, one of which made it to the warning track. The right-hander improved to 5-6 with a 3.84 ERA in 15 starts this year.
There have been 24 perfect games in big league history — none a combined effort by multiple pitchers. Domingo Germán threw the most recent one, for the New York Yankees against the A’s on July 28, 2023.
The Marlins have not had a perfect game in their 33-year history.
Armed with a 98-99 mph fastball, Pérez was rated one of baseball’s top prospects before making his major league debut at age 20 in May 2023.
He sat out the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery with an internal brace, and returned to Miami’s rotation in June 2025. He entered Sunday with a 16-18 record and 3.85 ERA in 53 major league starts.
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