In his first start of the season, Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish was perfect for 8 2/3 innings against the Astros in Houston. The 26-year-old Darvish struck out 14 batters and threw 111 pitches. Marwin Gonzalez singled on the first pitch he saw from Darvish with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, ending his bid to pitch the 24th perfect game in Major League history. Michael Kirkman finished the game for the Rangers for the combined shutout 7-0.
The Astros fell victim last June to the San Francisco Giants Matt Cain‘s perfect game last June.Felix Hernandez was the last Major leaguer to throw a perfect game. Hernandez’ masterpiece came last August against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Darvish signed a six-year, $56 million contract with the Rangers last offseason after pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league for five seasons. He went 76-28 with a 1.72 ERA for his career in Japan and went 16-9 in 2012, his first season in Major League Baseball.
