Former Hendricken star throws rare Triple-A perfect game in win

Thomas Pannone certainly made the most of having to work on Labor Day.

The former Bishop Hendricken baseball standout fired a perfect game for Triple-A Nashville in a 3-0 win at Durham. The left-hander's superb performance Monday evening, Sept, 7, was the first such nine-inning effort in the minor leagues since 2017 and just the fifth in the 142-year history of the International League.

Pannone threw 61 of his 94 pitches for strikes, capping his gem at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in North Carolina by inducing a Homer Bush Jr. bouncer to shortstop. Eduardo Garcia fielded coming in and threw across to first baseman Blake Burke for the 27 th and final out of the evening. Pannone was rushed by his teammates at the center of the diamond and applauded by the road crowd of 6,637 fans.

Pannone struggled to find his command early, falling behind each of the game's first two hitters and going to a quick 3-0 count against Carson Williams leading off the bottom of the second. Williams decided to be aggressive and swung at the next two pitchers, fouling off a borderline four-seam fastball before lining to center.

Pannone settled into a rhythm from there, cruising into the bottom of the ninth before going to 2-0 for just the second time since the early innings against Blake Sabol. Two foul balls and a grounder to Garcia at short put Pannone two outs away, and Logan Davidson followed by lining a first-pitch sinker to left. Bush jumped ahead 3-0 while standing between Pannone and history before taking a called strike and rolling over a sinker on the outside corner.

The Sounds plated single runs in the three different innings to back Pannone. Garcia lined an RBI single to left in the third and Ramon Rodriguez sent a run-scoring double to left in the fourth. Garcia added a long solo homer to left in the eighth, a 421-foot blast to highlight his 2-for-4 night at the plate.

Pannone allowed 15 hits over his last three starts in August, covering just 8 2/3 innings. He threw four scoreless frames against Louisville last time out, reaching five strikeouts for the fifth time this season. The eight strikeouts Pannone posted in this outing were his most in a Triple-A game since fanning nine with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in August 2024.

Pannone is in the midst of his second stint with the Milwaukee Brewers organization and made a start in the big leagues against the San Francisco Giants in late July. His pair of strikeouts against former Boston Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers were a personal highlight in a loss at Oracle Park, a first time out in the majors for Pannone since 2023. He debuted with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 and has also spent parts of two years with the Kia Tigers in the KBO League.

Pannone missed all of 2025 recovering from a torn left flexor tendon. He returned with three scoreless innings in an April outing against Worcester and started for the 20 th time this season on Monday. The 32-year-old collected his 300 th professional appearance last time out against the Bats.

Pannone also starred in the outfield while winning three state championships with the Hawks in 2009, 2010 and 2012. He made an initial commitment to Miami before enrolling instead with the College of Southern Nevada to speed up his draft clock. Pannone was selected in the ninth round by the Cleveland Guardians in 2013, signed for $120,000 and was part of a July 2017 trade with Toronto for relief pitcher Joe Smith that helped clear a path to the top.

Pannone joins an exclusive pitching club that includes a local tie. Pawtucket Red Sox right-hander Tomo Ohka fired a perfect game at McCoy Stadium in June 2000, a 76-pitch blanking of the Charlotte Knights. Ohka etched his own name into both PawSox and minor league history on that night.