32-year-old journeyman throws first individual perfect game in Minors since 2017
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Thomas Pannone accomplished something on Monday that hadn’t been done in nearly a decade in the Minor Leagues: he threw a perfect game.
The 32-year-old left-hander, whom the Brewers signed in 2024, blanked Durham in Triple-A Nashville’s 3-0 victory at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Pannone struck out eight in the perfecto, needing just 94 pitches (61 of which were strikes) in the effort.
The perfect game is the first by a single pitcher in the Minors since 2017, when the feat was accomplished twice -- Tyler Mahle did it for Double-A Pensacola on April 22 of that season, and Domenic Mazza did it for Class A Augusta just three days later.
It is the third perfect game in the history of the Nashville Sounds -- John Wasdin threw one on April 7, 2003 (when Nashville was a Pirates affiliate) and Manny Parra had one on June 25, 2007.
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Pannone’s perfect game is the fifth in the history of the International League, which dates back to 1884. The prior IL perfectos came in 1910 (Chet Carmichael for Buffalo on Aug. 9), 2000 (Tomo Ohka for Pawtucket on June 1), 2003 (Bronson Arroyo for Pawtucket on Aug. 10) and 2011 (Justin Germano for Columbus on July 26).
There have been only 24 perfect games in MLB history, the most recent thrown by the Yankees’ Domingo Germán in 2023.
Selected in the ninth round of the 2013 Draft by Cleveland, Pannone made his Major League debut for the Blue Jays on Aug. 10, 2018. He’s had a long and winding baseball journey since then.
From 2021-23, Pannone pitched in the Minors for the Angels, Red Sox and Brewers. He also made one big league appearance for Milwaukee in ’23, and he pitched in Korea for the Kia Tigers in 2022 and ’23.
In 2024, Pannone pitched in the Minors for the Cubs and Yankees, though he did not appear in the Majors. He missed the entire ’25 campaign due to a torn flexor tendon in his left forearm.
The Brewers signed Pannone to a Minor League deal in November 2024. On July 29 of this season, he made his first Major League start in seven years when he took the mound for Milwaukee against the Giants in San Francisco.