Pérez's Pitch Variety Leads to 7 Perfect Innings for Marlins

Eury Pérez left the Athletics' batters stunned by his pitching variety en route to throwing seven perfect innings in the Miami Marlins' 9-8 victory on Sunday.

Pérez got deep in his bag while on the mound for the seven innings. He started incorporating the sinker into his arsenal, which threw batters off guard since he had never used it prior to Sunday's matchup.

His four-seam fastball was the most-used pitch throughout the season, thrown 51.9% of the time. It fell to 38.4% after Pérez brought out the sinker, which rose to 18.2% after the Athletics game.

MLB Network studio analyst Mark DeRosa broke down Pérez's perfect seven-inning performance and highlighted his pitching excellence. Starting with the fastball, Pérez's velocity clocks in at 98.1 miles per hour. He comes in third under Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Bubba Chandler (98.4) and Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski (100.4).

"When you're north of 97 miles an hour, the opposition cannot come off the heater," DeRosa said. "You can't, and if you do, and he throws it, you're dead."

DeRosa analyzed Pérez's face-off against right fielder Lawrence Butler. Miami's right-hander struck out Butler in seven pitches, but showed him different pitches before resorting to his most efficient pitch.

Pérez started with a sinker, which was ruled a ball. He returned to the fastball with the second pitch, then pivoted to the slider. It was a 1-3 count after four pitches with the Marlins' starting pitcher risking a walk, and he went to the fastball for the final three pitches.

Butler struck out attempting to hit Pérez's fastball that averaged 97.4 miles per hour.

"When he falls behind in the count, and he has to execute a pitch, here it is, big boy, you got to get to 99 miles an hour," DeRosa said. "It's foul'd off, it's foul'd off, I execute a two-seamer, boom."

DeRosa moved to the next batter faced, Max Muncy, and Pérez's versatility struck once again. He started with a slider, moved to the sweeper and struck Muncy out with his fastball.

The constant mix-ups confused batters and affected their timing when attempting to hit Pérez's pitches. Pérez exited the game throwing seven perfect innings and recording eight strikeouts during his excellent outing.

The 23-year-old picked up his fifth win of the season, bringing his record to 5-6 for the year. His next start will be against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, as Miami starts a six-game home stand at loanDepot Park after a three-state, 10-game road trip.

Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.

Download the free Roundtable APP, (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/roundtable-rtb/id6450423049) and stay even more connected!