Buehrle throws 18th perfect game in MLB history

CHICAGO | The way Mark Buehrle sees it, he owes Dewayne Wise a steak dinner. Or a whole cow. Or probably an entire farm.

The White Sox ace took a perfect game into the ninth inning Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays at U.S. Cellular Field, and until then the biggest threat to him making history was a rope down the line by B.J. Upton in the seventh that dropped foul by a foot.

But in the ninth, three outs from not just a no-hitter, but from the holy grail of a perfect game, Gabe Kapler took Buehrle deep to center with a bomb that should've broken the hearts of Buehrle, the Sox and the 28,036 at the Cell.

That is, until Wise climbed the wall and pulled back Kapler's certain home run.

His glove a foot above the home run line, Wise snagged the ball and bobbled it momentarily on the ground before securing the out -- and baseball history -- with his bare hand. And if that wasn't perfect enough, Wise was a defensive replacement by manager Ozzie Guillen moments before the catch.

Buehrle retired the final two batters with ease before being swarmed by teammates on the field with the 17th no-hitter in White Sox history and the team's second perfect game, a 5-0 win over the Rays.

After the game, Buehrle said the accomplishment will be a costly one for him -- but well worth it.

"I bought the guys watches -- everybody on the team -- last time," Buehrle said of his April 18, 2007, no-hitter. "So that was an expensive no-hitter and this one will probably be a lot more expensive."

With the pressure of his no-hitter two years ago long gone, Buehrle wouldn't have dreamed of going out Thursday to throw another one -- especially not with Sox newcomer Ramon Castro catching him for the first time. Or would he?

"The funny thing is, A.J. (Pierzynski) came over to me yesterday and said, 'You've got your own personal catcher catchin' ya (tomorrow),'" Buehrle said. "He's like, 'Hell, just go out there and throw a no-hitter.' I said, 'For what? I've already got one of those.' And he said, 'Well, then throw a perfect game.' So he called it before we even started."

The perfect game was just the 18th in Major League Baseball history, a feat so rare that it even gets the attention of the most powerful man in the world, a Sox fan himself. Not long after Buehrle's postgame news conference started, a White Sox team official had to usher him out to take a phone call from President Barack Obama.

After the game, Guillen said emotions were running high.

"Lots of guts," Guillen said of Buehrle. "I said two years ago, one of the toughest things I've ever seen in my life was when Buehrle threw (his first) no-hitter. Not because he can't, but because he tries to get guys to put the ball in play and get out of there the quickest he can. We're excited. The coaches room -- everybody was in tears. One thing about it, it couldn't happen to a better guy -- a great guy all around. He's one of the most underrated pitchers in the American League the last 10 years."

Guillen wouldn't take too much credit for inserting Wise in the ninth, a move that almost certainly led to the preservation of the gem.

"That's our job, you know what I mean?" Guillen said. "The last couple times (we used Wise as a defensive replacement), we did it just in case something happens. In this case, it did something good for the organization and a lot of people can smile about it. We have him for a reason. It was one of the best plays I've seen, especially in that situation."

Buehrle, a lefty known for letting hitters make contact to put the ball in play so he can get outs, said he wasn't caught up in his performance during the game and that it hadn't really sunk in yet moments after he walked off the field.

"It was one of those days I was throwing curveballs and changes -- I wasn't throwing too many fastballs and cutters," Buehrle said. "That was the first time Castro's caught me. I still can't believe it. The no-hitter ... I never thought I'd throw a no-hitter, never thought I'd throw a perfect game, never thought I'd hit a home run. So never say never."

White Sox 5, Rays 0

The Sox moved five games over .500 and into first place in the AL Central.

Up next: Doubleheader today -- White Sox (Jose Contreras 4-8) at Detroit (Justin Verlander 10-5), 12:05 p.m.; White Sox (Bartolo Colon 3-6) at Detroit (Eddie Bonine 0-0), 6:05 p.m.

TV: Game 1 -- Comcast SportsNet Plus, CLTV (cable); Game 2 -- WCIU (Ch. 26).

Radio: WSCR-AM (670).

White Sox No-Hitters

July 23, 2009, Mark Buehrle vs. Tampa Bay, 5-0-y

April 18, 2007, Mark Buehrle vs. Texas, 6-0

Aug. 11, 1991, Wilson Alvarez at Baltimore, 7-0

Sept. 19, 1986, Joe Cowley at California, 7-1

July 28, 1976, Blue Moon Odom and Francisco Barrios at Oakland, 2-1

Sept. 10, 1967, Joel Horlen vs. Detroit, 6-0

Aug. 20, 1957, Robert Keegen vs. Washington, 6-0

June 1, 1937, William Dietrich vs. St. Louis, 8-0

Aug. 31, 1935, Vernon Kennedy vs. Cleveland, 5-0

Aug. 21, 1926, Ted Lyons at Boston, 6-0

April 30, 1922, Charles Robertson at Detroit, 2-0-y

April 14, 1917, Eddie Cicotte at St. Louis, 11-0

May 31, 1914, Joseph Benz vs. Cleveland, 6-1

Aug. 27, 1911, Ed Walsh vs. Boston, 5-0

Sept. 20, 1908, Frank Smith vs. Philadelphia, 1-0

Sept. 6, 1905, Frank Smith at Detroit, 15-0

Sept. 20, 1902, James Callahan vs. Detroit, 3-0

y-perfect game

List of perfect games thrown in Major League Baseball history

Mark Buehrle, White Sox (AL) vs. Tampa Bay, 5-0, July 23, 2009.

Randy Johnson, Arizona at Atlanta (NL), 2-0, May 18, 2004.

David Cone, New York (AL) vs. Montreal, 6-0, July 18, 1999.

David Wells, New York (AL) vs. Minnesota, 4-0, May 17, 1998.

Kenny Rogers, Texas vs. California (AL), 4-0, July 28, 1994.

Dennis Martinez, Montreal at Los Angeles (NL), 2-0, July 28, 1991.

Tom Browning, Cincinnati vs. Los Angeles (NL), 1-0, Sept. 16, 1988.

Mike Witt, California at Texas (AL), 1-0, Sept. 30, 1984.

Len Barker, Cleveland vs. Toronto (AL), 3-0, May 15, 1981.

Catfish Hunter, Oakland vs. Minnesota (AL), 4-0, May 8, 1968.

Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles vs. Cubs, 1-0, Sept. 9, 1965.

Jim Bunning, Philadelphia at New York (NL), 6-0, June 21, 1964.

x-Don Larsen, New York (AL) vs. Brooklyn (NL), 2-0, Oct. 8, 1956.

Charles Robertson, White Sox at Detroit (AL), 2-0, April 30, 1922.

Addie Joss, Cleveland vs. White Sox, 1-0, Oct. 2, 1908.

Cy Young, Boston vs. Philadelphia (AL), 3-0, May 5, 1904.

x-World Series

Prior to modern era

John Richmond, Worcester vs. Cleveland (NL), 1-0, June 12, 1880.

John Ward, Providence vs. Buffalo (NL), 5-0, June 17, 1880.

Unofficial perfect games

Ernie Shore, Boston vs. Washington (AL), 4-0, June 23, 1917. Entered game after starter Babe Ruth walked Ray Morgan, and following an argument, was ejected by umpire Brick Owens. Morgan was caught stealing and Shore retired the remaining 26 batters.

Harvey Haddix, Pittsburgh vs. Milwaukee (NL), 0-1, 13 innings, May 26, 1959. Pitched 12 perfect innings, lost in 13th on an error, sacrifice bunt, walk and double.

Pedro Martinez, Montreal at San Diego, June 3, 1995, 1-0, 10 innings. Pitched 9 perfect innings, allowed leadoff double in 10th and was replaced by Mel Rojas, who finished one-hitter in 1-0 win.