Royals pitcher didn’t get a no-hitter but umpire had rare perfect game Wednesday
Royals rookie Noah Cameron had a game he’ll remember the rest of his life even though his no-hit bid came up eight outs short in his big-league debut Wednesday.
Home plate umpire Nic Lentz, however, had a perfect game Wednesday in the Royals’ 3-0 win over the Rays. But it’s likely Lentz probably didn’t realize he had made a bit of history himself.
Lentz got each ball-and-strike call correct in the Royals’ win at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida.
Every pitch that the Rays’ batters took Wednesday from the Cameron, the St. Joseph native — and his three fellow Royals hurlers — was called correctly by Lentz. Ditto for the pitches taken by the Royals’ batters from the three Rays pitchers on Wednesday.
All told, that was 129 pitches called correctly, according to Ump Scorecards.
It’s believed to be just the third time an umpire has had a perfect game since ball-and-strike tracking began. However, it’s the second time this season that feat has been accomplished, and the other game also involved the Royals.
On April 10, home-plate umpire Mark Ripperger got every call right in the Royals’ 3-2 win over the Twins at Kauffman Stadium.
The other perfecto was from Pat Hoberg at the 2022 World Series.
This story was originally published May 1, 2025 at 10:34 AM.
