Kingham flirts with perfecto in MLB debut, Pirates top Cards
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Kingham carried a perfect game into the seventh inning in his major league debut to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Kingham, a 26-year-old rookie right-hander, retired 20 straight batters before Paul DeJong singled down the left-field line with two outs in the seventh. He finished with one hit and nine strikeouts on 98 pitches (72 strikes) after being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day.
Elias Diaz went 3-for-4 with three singles and two RBIs as the Pirates won their fifth straight game and completed a three-game sweep of the Cardinals.