Sports
Veteran Left-Hander Pannone Tosses Minor League Perfect Game for Triple-A Nashville
Thomas Pannone, a 32-year-old left-handed pitcher, threw a perfect game on Monday, the first individual perfect game in the Minor Leagues since 2017. Pitching for Triple-A Nashville, Pannone retired every Durham batter he faced, leading his team to a 3-0 victory at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. He struck out eight batters and threw 94 pitches, 61 of which were strikes. The last individual perfect games in the Minors occurred in 2017, when Tyler Mahle achieved the feat for Double-A Pensacola on April 22, followed just three days later by Domenic Mazza for Class A Augusta. Pannone's performance marks the third perfect game in Nashville Sounds history, following John Wasdin's effort on April 7, 2003, when the team was a Pirates affiliate, and Manny Parra's game on June 25, 2007. It is also the fifth perfect game in the International League since the league's founding in 1884, joining a list that includes Chet Carmichael's 1910 game for Buffalo, Tomo Ohka's 2000 game for Pawtucket, Bronson Arroyo's 2003 game for Pawtucket, and Justin Germano's 2011 game for Columbus. By comparison, Major League Baseball has seen only 24 perfect games in its history, most recently by the Yankees' Domingo Germán in 2023. Pannone was drafted in the ninth round of the 2013 MLB Draft by Cleveland and made his big league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 10, 2018. Since then, his career has taken him through several organizations. Between 2021 and 2023, he pitched in the Minors for the Angels, Red Sox, and Brewers, and made a single MLB appearance with Milwaukee in 2023. He also played professionally in South Korea for the Kia Tigers during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2024, Pannone pitched in the Minors for both the Cubs and Yankees organizations without reaching the Majors. He sat out the entire 2025 season due to a torn flexor tendon in his left forearm. The Brewers signed him to a Minor League contract in November 2024. On July 29 of this year, Pannone returned to the Majors for the first time in seven years, starting a game for Milwaukee against the San Francisco Giants.