Pérez pulled after 7 perfect innings against A’s, and Marlins nearly blow 8-run lead in 9-8 win

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough was well aware that Eury Pérez was only six outs from pitching the first perfect game in franchise history Sunday.

And still, McCullough pulled the plug.

Pérez 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 a 9-8 victory over the Athletics.

“I totally get it,” McCullough said. “There 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’s best moving forward to give us a chance to continue to win games.”

Making his third start since returning from the injured list, Pérez was lifted after throwing 92 pitches over seven perfect innings.

“Going into this game, 90-plus was the pitch count but … us looking to play beyond the regular season, Eury’s going to be an important part of that,” McCullough said. “He had it really going today.”

Heriberto Hernández homered twice for the surprising Marlins (49-42), who have won nine of 12 overall after completing a three-game sweep. Leo Jiménez and All-Star shortstop Otto Lopez also went deep.

A crowd full of A’s fans booed when McCullough replaced Pérez with reliever Lake Bachar to begin the eighth.

Bachar issued a leadoff walk to Lawrence Butler, the first baserunner for the A’s. 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’s lead to 8-5.

Brian Serven singled to chase Bachar, who didn’t 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, Pérez defended his manager for making the change.

“It’s something that doesn’t feel good,” Pérez said. “But they don’t know the inside information. We had a plan of 90 pitches. I’m very proud of my team and very proud of my manager. Mostly the communication that we have.”

The 23-year-old Pérez, who has never tossed a complete game in his major league career, struck out eight before giving way to the bullpen.

“I’m a fan of baseball, too, and I know there’s a history of this game,” McCullough said. “It wasn’t lost on me.”

The 92 pitches were the most Pérez has thrown since returning from the injured list June 24. He had been sidelined since late May because of a bizarre leg injury sustained while he was stretching in the dugout.

Pérez was initially expected to miss about two months with a high-grade strain of his right gracilis — a long, thin muscle on the inside of the thigh. He exited a May 27 outing in Toronto 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 Pérez was facing the A’s 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.

“Really used his whole arsenal,” McCullough said. “This is a version of Eury we’ve seen trending.”

There have been 24 perfect games in big league history — each authored by a single pitcher. Domingo Germán threw the most recent one, for the New York Yankees against the A’s on July 28, 2023.

The Marlins have not had a perfect game in their 33-year history.

Armed with a 98-99 mph fastball, Pérez was rated one of baseball’s 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’s 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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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb