Manny Parra, a highly-regarded pitching prospect for Brewers' Class AAA affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, made history Monday night in RoundRock, Texas.
In his second start since being promoted from Class AA Huntsville, the 24-year-old lefty pitched a perfect game in Nashville’s 3-0 victory over the Round Rock Express.
Teammates at the Dell Diamond mobbed Parra shortly after 9:43 p.m., as first baseman Brad Nelson gloved a game-ending popup off the bat of pinch-hitter Jesse Garcia.
The rare achievement was only the third nine-inning perfect game in the 104-year history of the Pacific Coast League –- and the second by a member of the Nashville Sounds.
Tacoma’s John Halama threw the first on July 8, 2001, before the Sounds’ John Wasdin duplicated the feat on April 7, 2003 at Greer Stadium.
Parra (1-1), who earned his first Class AAA victory with the historic effort, set a new personal high with 11 strikeouts in the contest. He previously fanned 10 batters on five occasions during the first four seasons of his pro career.
The southpaw, who threw 107 pitches including 77 strikes, did not face a three-ball count against any batter until the bottom of the seventh inning and worked through three-ball counts only three times allevening.
Parra’s perfect game was Nashville’s first no-hit effort since July 15, 2006, when Carlos Villanueva (7.0 IP), Mike Meyers (2.0 IP) and Alec Zumwalt (1.0 IP) combined on a no-no against Memphis at Greer Stadium. It was the sixth no-hit effort by a Sounds hurler (second perfect game) and 11th overall no-hitter in a game involving the Sounds in the club’s 30-year history.
The Nashville victory, coupled with a loss by Iowa, thrust the Sounds (45-32) back into first place in the PCL American Conference Northern Division.
Nashville jumped on the board in the top of the first inning, taking a 1-0 lead when Callix Crabbe (3-for-4) doubled to right and scored two batters later on Joe Dillon’s two-out RBI single to left off Express starter Matt Albers. On the play, Crabbe ran through Round Rock catcher Humberto Quintero to reach the plate safely.
The Sounds added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth on Mike Rivera’s two-run double off Express reliever Paul Estrada, extending the lead to 3-0. Albers (2-3) turned in an outstanding outing, but drew the tough-luck loss for Round Rock. The right-hander allowed one run on eight hits while striking out six batters over seven innings of work. The teams wrap up the series with a 7 p.m. finale Tuesday.
Left-hander Adam Pettyjohn (3-1, 3.46), a winner in each ofhis last three starts, will man the bump for Nashville and face Round Rockright-hander Chan Ho Park (4-6, 5.79).
