Matt Cain Pitches the First Perfect Game in Giants History

On June 13, 2012, Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants retired all 27 Houston Astros batters he faced, pitching a 10-0 perfect game at AT&T Park. It was the 22nd perfect game in major league history and the first in the Giants' franchise history, a span stretching back to 1883. Cain struck out 14, tying Sandy Koufax's record for the most strikeouts in a perfect game, and threw 125 pitches, the most ever thrown in one.

The defense behind Cain saved the perfection twice. In the sixth inning, left fielder Melky Cabrera made a running catch at the wall. In the seventh, the game's most dramatic moment arrived. Jordan Schafer launched a line drive into right-center field on a 3-2 pitch. Center fielder Gregor Blanco, positioned slightly toward the gap on a coaching tip, sprinted to his left and dove fully extended, snaring the ball while sliding across the warning track on his stomach. Cain later said he thought the ball was gone the moment it left the bat.

The Giants piled up 10 runs, the most ever scored in support of a perfect game. Cain himself scored one of them, the first pitcher to cross the plate in his own perfecto. The final out came on a ground ball by pinch-hitter Jason Castro, fielded deep behind third base by Joaquin Arias, who threw across the diamond to complete the game.

Cain was 27 years old and in his eighth major league season, all of it spent with San Francisco. He had never led the league in wins or ERA. He was not the Giants' ace, at least not in the way the public defined it. Tim Lincecum had won two Cy Young Awards. But Cain was the most dependable starter on the staff, posting at least 200 innings in five consecutive seasons. His teammates called him "the Horse" for his willingness to take the ball every fifth day without complaint.

The perfect game arrived during a remarkable stretch for the feat. Philip Humber had thrown one earlier in 2012, making it just the third season in history with multiple perfect games. Cain's version was the most dominant of them all.