Joey Estes pitched a perfect game until the seventh inning, Mason Miller saved the game, and the Oakland Athletics won 2-1 against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.
The A’s, who lost three series in a row, can break the losing streak with a win on Thursday. The Mariners had won eight of their last nine games. “A fantastic game by Joey out there,” said A’s manager Mark Kotsay.
Kotsay compared Estes’ pitching style to former A’s star Tim Hudson, saying Estes could become a similar kind of pitcher. Estes (2-1) got ahead of hitters early by throwing 15 first-pitch strikes.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking tonight watching him pitch—the way he pitched aggressively with his fastball and attacked hitters,” Kotsay said. “Huddy was that kind of pitcher.”
Zack Gelof hit a home run in the third inning, and Daz Cameron scored on a passed ball in the sixth after advancing from first to third on a wild pickoff throw.
Estes, in his seventh career start, didn’t allow a baserunner until J.P. Crawford hit a double to lead off the seventh inning. Estes left the game after that batter, having thrown 78 pitches and striking out five.
“He was just really on tonight,” Crawford said about Estes. Estes said he didn’t let the possibility of a perfect game affect his mindset during the game.
“You kind of know what’s happening, but nothing changes,” Estes said about thinking about pitching a perfect game. “You’re still trying to hit the strike zone. It’s the same game. Nothing changes. I guess you kind of notice it, but it’s not consuming my mind.”
Crawford hit a first-pitch fastball for Seattle’s only hit against Estes, who said he was just trying to get ahead in the count.
“If that’s a little bit shorter of a pop fly, that’s an out,” Estes said. “But also he could’ve hit it even further, so it’s just one of those things where you’ve just got to trust your pitches. I can only control what happens after I throw the ball. I can’t really control anything else.”
