| | Associated Press
PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Tomo Ohka became the third pitcher in the
117-year history of the International League to throw a nine-inning
perfect game Thursday night as Pawtucket beat Charlotte 2-0.
The 24-year-old Japanese right-hander needed just 77 pitches -- 59 of which were strikes -- to complete the first perfect game in
Pawtucket history.
"I've never come close to anything like this," Ohka said
through an interpreter. "But when I realized what was starting to
happen, I concentrated more on trying to win the game for the team.
"When the game ended, the first thing that went through my mind
was, 'I did it!"'
Ohka (5-5) didn't go to as many as three balls on a single
Knights hitter and went to two balls just twice. He had eight
strikeouts.
"I tried to keep my emotions under control and to stay calm,"
Ohka said. "I wasn't overwhelmed by the situation ... I treated it
just like any other game."
Ohka was the Boston Red Sox's minor league player of the year
last season, going 8-0 for Class AA Trenton and 7-0 for Pawtucket.
He was 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA in 12 games for Boston.
Charlotte's Liu Rodriguez led off the sixth inning with a
grounder just to the right of second base, but David Eckstein
hustled to the ball and threw out Rodriguez by a foot.
"He got a lot of outs early in the count and we swung at a lot of borderline pitches," Charlotte's McKay Christensen said. "He threw a lot of well-placed fastballs and a tough slider."
Izzy Alcantara homered in the fourth, and Pawtucket added a run in the eighth on a wild pitch. | |
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