Cubs’ Drew Smyly loses perfect game, no-hitter on freak infield collision

Drew Smyly was six outs from immortality before disaster struck.

The Chicago Cubs left-hander had tossed seven perfect innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers, bringing him to the precepie of becoming the first MLB pitcher to throw a perfect game since the Seattle Mariners’ Félix Hernández did so in 2012. But Smyly’s perfect game was ruined when catcher Yan Gomes collided with his pitcher while Smyly attempted to field a weak ground ball hit by the Dodgers’ David Peralta, the first batter in the eighth inning.

Adding further insult, Peralta’s ground ball was ruled a hit since Gomes never made contact with the ball and Smyly technically did not mishandle it. The Cubs’ home broadcast was in disbelief at the incident, as was the stunned crowd at Wrigley Field.

Smyly was checked on by manager David Ross and an athletic trainer, but the pitcher stayed in the game. He retired Miguel Vargas on a popup to third and struck out James Outman, then was replaced by Jeremiah Estrada.

Smyly received a thunderous ovation from the crowd of 30,381 as he walked off the mound. Ross confirmed after the game that despite Smyly’s triple-digit pitch count, the left-hander would have remained in the game for his shot at the history books.

“He had a real chance,” Ross said in his postgame press conference, via Marquee Sports Network. “He was as locked in and they were as off-balance as I’ve seen a team in a while.”

“I was going to ride him harder than Yan did,” Ross later added with a smile.

But Ross, a former catcher himself, refrained from harshly criticizing Gomes when asked about the crucial play.

“It’s a hard play,” Ross said. “[Smyly] had soft contact all night so it’s kind of fitting that it ended with probably the softest.”

Peralta’s dribbler wound up being the Dodgers’ only hit Friday as the Cubs won 13-0.

There have only been 23 perfect games in recorded MLB history, including New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen’s against the then-Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.

Here’s how social media reacted to the brutal end of Smyly’s perfect game bid:

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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