Strange days

Some more interesting tidbits have come out since Mark Buehrle threw his perfect game. As most people know, he threw a no-hitter against Texas on April 18, 2007. Some interesting parallels between those two games:

• The same umpire was behind the plate.
• The time of the game (2:03) was the same.
• A grand slam was hit in both games.
• He faced the minimum of 27 batters. (He walked Sammy Sosa in the 2007 game and promptly picked him off.)
• The perfect game was saved in the ninth inning by a stunning catch by DeWayne Wise. In the 2007 game, Jermaine Dye saved the no-hitter by making a less-dramatic catch at the fence.
• Both games were played at U.S. Cellular Field.

Some other facts:

• He is the 18th pitcher to throw a perfect game ever.
• Tampa Bay came into the game with the third-highest scoring offense in baseball. They are the highest rated offense to have a perfect game thrown against it in history!
• He is only the third pitcher ever to throw a perfect game, a no-hitter and win a World Series title with the same team. The other two? Cy Young and Sandy Koufax.
• As far as I can tell, he is the only pitcher to pitch a perfect game, a no-hitter and record a save in the World Series. (He saved Game 3 of the World Series against Houston.)