OAKLAND, Calif., May 9 (UPI) -- Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden said his perfect game came on a Mother's Day when he was remembering the death of his own mother.
Braden, speaking to CSN Bay Area after Sunday's win, said the gem was especially sweet because his grandmother was in the stands to watch him down the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0.
Braden's mother died of melanoma at age 39 when he was a high school senior, and after hurling the 19th perfect game in major league history he gave his grandmother a long celebratory hug on the field.
"It was great to have her here and to see this," Braden said.
Braden (4-2) tossed the first perfect game for Oakland since Jim "Catfish" Hunter's 1968 gem against the Minnesota Twins and it was the first perfect game in the major leagues since July 23, 2009, when Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox also downed Tampa Bay.
Braden struck out six in the historic game. In the ninth, he induced Willie Aybar to hit a soft liner to first base for the first out, while Dioner Navarro struck a sharp liner to Eric Patterson in left for the second out.
The last out was made when Gabe Kapler hit a broken-bat grounder to short, triggering an on-field celebration.
"Once we got in our groove and I started feeling myself a little, I knew I was getting ahead but I never imagined all those goose eggs," Braden said.
