WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough was well aware that Eury P茅rez was only six outs from pitching the first perfect game in franchise history Sunday.
And still, McCullough pulled the plug.
P茅rez was removed after retiring all 21 batters he faced, a move that almost blew up on the Marlins when they nearly squandered an eight-run lead in
鈥淚 totally get it,鈥� McCullough said. 鈥淭here was a part of my heartstrings pulling at his opportunity to keep on going, but I have to think about Eury and our organization, our team and what鈥檚 best moving forward to give us a chance to continue to win games.鈥�
Making his third start since returning from the injured list, P茅rez was lifted after throwing 92 pitches over seven perfect innings.
鈥淕oing into this game, 90-plus was the pitch count but 鈥� us looking to play beyond the regular season, Eury鈥檚 going to be an important part of that,” McCullough said. “He had it really going today.鈥�
Heriberto Hern谩ndez homered twice for the surprising Marlins (49-42), who have won nine of 12 overall after completing a three-game sweep. Leo Jim茅nez and All-Star shortstop Otto Lopez also went deep.
A crowd full of A鈥檚 fans booed when McCullough replaced P茅rez with reliever Lake Bachar to begin the eighth.
Bachar issued a leadoff walk to Lawrence Butler, the first baserunner for the A鈥檚. 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鈥檚 lead to 8-5.
Brian Serven singled to chase Bachar, who didn鈥檛 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 Pete Fairbanks gave up three runs, two earned, in the bottom half before finally closing it out.
After all that, P茅rez defended his manager for making the change.
“It鈥檚 something that doesn鈥檛 feel good,鈥� P茅rez said. 鈥淏ut they don鈥檛 know the inside information. We had a plan of 90 pitches. I鈥檓 very proud of my team and very proud of my manager. Mostly the communication that we have.鈥�
The 23-year-old P茅rez, who has never tossed a complete game in his major league career, struck out eight before giving way to the bullpen.
鈥淚鈥檓 a fan of baseball, too, and I know there鈥檚 a history of this game,鈥� McCullough said. 鈥淚t wasn’t lost on me.鈥�
The 92 pitches were the most P茅rez has thrown since returning from the injured list June 24. He had been sustained while he was stretching in the dugout.
P茅rez was initially expected to miss about two months with a high-grade strain of his right gracilis 鈥� a long, thin muscle on the inside of the thigh. He 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 P茅rez was facing the A鈥檚 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.
鈥淩eally used his whole arsenal,鈥� McCullough said. 鈥淭his is a version of Eury we鈥檝e seen trending.鈥�
There have been 24 perfect games in big league history 鈥� each authored by a single pitcher. Domingo Germ谩n threw the most recent one, for the New York Yankees against the A鈥檚 on July 28, 2023.
The Marlins have not had a perfect game in their 33-year history.
Armed with a 98-99 mph fastball, P茅rez was rated one of baseball鈥檚 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鈥檚 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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