CHICAGO — The 105th pitch of Mark Buehrle’s day broke in toward Gabe Kapler, who turned on it and connected. Buehrle looked up and knew — his perfect game was in jeopardy.
Just in as a defensive replacement, White Sox center fielder DeWayne Wise sprinted toward the fence in left-center, a dozen strides. What happened next would be either a moment of baseball magic or the ninth-inning end of Buehrle’s bid for perfection against the Rays.
Wise jumped and extended his right arm above the top of the 8-foot wall. The ball landed in his glove’s webbing but then popped out for a split second as he was caroming off the wall and stumbling on the warning track. Wise grabbed it with his bare left hand, fell to the ground and rolled. He bounced up, proudly displaying the ball for the crowd.
Magic. A home run turned into an out.
His biggest threat behind him, Buehrle coolly closed out the 18th perfect game in major-league history, a 5-0 victory Thursday.
“I was hoping it was staying in there, give him enough room to catch it. I know the guys were doing everything they could to save the no-hitter, the perfect game, whatever it might be,” Buehrle said.
“It was kind of crazy, man, because when I jumped, the ball hit my glove at the same time I was hitting the wall,” Wise said. “So I didn’t realize I had caught it until I fell down and the ball was coming out of my glove, so I reached out and grabbed it.”
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was happy he made the switch to Wise, who came in at center while Scott Podsednik shifted to left and Carlos Quentin was pulled out.
“I guess that’s our job,” Guillen said.
Buehrle fell behind 3-1 in the count to Michel Hernandez, the second batter in the ninth, who took a called strike and then swung and missed at strike three.
With fans chanting Buehrle’s name, Jason Bartlett got ahead 2-1, then grounded to shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who threw to first baseman Josh Fields.
Buehrle (11-3) threw 76-of-116 pitches for strikes and fanned six in his second no-hitter.
“That moment was magical for both Wise and Buehrle,” Kapler said, “and most guys earn those moments.”
Joining the elite
Perfect games pitched in major-league history:
Mark Buehrle, Chicago (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 L.A. (NL), 2-0, July 28, 1991.
Tom Browning, Cincinnati vs. L.A. (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. Chicago (NL), 1-0, Sept. 9, 1965.
Jim Bunning, Philadelphia at New York (NL), 6-0, June 21, 1964.
x-Don Larsen, N.Y. (AL) vs. Brooklyn (NL), 2-0, Oct. 8, 1956.
Charles Robertson, Chicago at Detroit (AL), 2-0, April 30, 1922.
Addie Joss, Cleveland vs. Chicago (AL), 1-0, Oct. 2, 1908.
Cy Young, Boston vs. Philadelphia (AL), 3-0, May 5, 1904.
John Ward, Providence vs. Buffalo (NL), 5-0, June 17, 1880.
John Richmond, Worcester vs. Cleve. (NL), 1-0, June 12, 1880.
x — World Series
