Jharel Cotton retired the first 26 batters he faced, but a two-out triple ultimately stood between him and history.
Oakland's No. 16 prospect set a career-high with 12 strikeouts and led Triple-A Nashville to a 3-0 win over Round Rock, but it was the near perfect game that had everyone on the edge of their seats in the bottom of the ninth.
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Cotton struck out Kyle Kubitza for the second out in the ninth, but the left fielder disagreed with the call, argued and ultimately got ejected. Following the ejection, Kubitza took a lengthy stroll to the clubhouse -- located beyond the outfield wall -- and the delay may have been just enough to disrupt Cotton's rhythm.
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After throwing several warm-up pitches during the delay, Cotton fell behind, 2-1, to Express No. 9 hitter Doug Bernier, who then lined a triple to right field, and the perfect game was over.

MILB Video - Title: Bernier ends the perfect game - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1032317483

Cotton, who threw a season-high 108 pitches (78 for strikes), seemingly unfazed by the hit, struck out the next batter he faced to complete the one-hit shutout.
The 24-year-old nearly saw his perfect game ruined a few innings earlier, but Jaycob Brugman (Oakland's No. 22 prospect) saved the day with a diving catch in right center field to end the seventh inning.

MILB Video - Title: Cotton finishes start with a strikeout - Url: http://www.milb.com/r/video?content_id=1032363383

The Athletics acquired Cotton, along with Grant Holmes (No. 3 prospect) and Frankie Montas (No. 11), as part of the trade that sent Josh Reddick and Rich Hill to the Dodgers at the trade deadline and the lefty was making just his second start with the organization.
While Cotton stole the show, he wasn't the only top prospect to spin a dominant performance on the mound. Yohander Méndez (Rangers' No. 2, No. 64 overall) started the game for Round Rock and gave up just one hit in his five innings.
There have been only three perfect games in the 114-year history of the Pacific Coast League, two of them by Sounds pitchers. Manny Parra threw Nashville's most recent perfect game, on June 25, 2007, and John Wasdin threw one on April 7, 2003.