VIDEO: Final Out Of Felix Hernandez's Perfect Game Is A Strikeout

The 23rd perfect game in MLB history went down when Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez struck out 12 of the 27 batters he faced, while beating the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0. The final out of the game was, of course, a strikeout.

Hernandez was able to get Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Sean Rodriguez to strike out looking:

Felix Hernandez Perfect Game: Mariners Celebrate After Final Pitch

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez finally broke through after twice coming close to pitching a no-hitter. He was able to throw a perfect game and strikeout 12 in a 1-0 defeat over the Tampa Bay Rays. So, of course the crowd was very excited to be on the good side of a perfect game.

Below is the final out of the game, when Hernandez was able to get third baseman Sean Rodriguez to strike out looking.

Finally, there is this image with American Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, who is not impressed with Hernandez's performance.

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Felix Hernandez Perfect Game: Mariners Ace Strikes Out 12 In 1-0 Win Over Rays

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Felix Hernandez pitched the first perfect game of his career, as he shutout the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 in a pitchers' duel. Hernandez was able to strike out 12 Rays batters in the process of pitching this gem. There have been two times previously during Hernandez's career where he came close to getting a no-hitter. The first was back in 2007, against the Boston Red Sox. He held on through seven innings, but ultimately he ended up with a one-hitter. The other time was against the Texas Rangers in 2010, where he also came close but the no-no was broken up during the eighth inning.

Even with the perfect game, the Rays were never out of it, as their own starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson went seven innings and allowed just five hits along with the one run that cost them the game. The run was a RBI single by Mariners designated hitter Jesus Montero, which scored Brendan Ryan. His reliever was Kyle Farnsworth, who continued the pitchers duel and did not allow any runs in his only inning.

This perfect game for Hernandez is only the 23rd in the history of Major League Baseball, and happens to be the third of this season. Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox threw a perfect game against the Mariners back on April 21, and Matt Cain of the Giants had a perfect game of his own on June 13 of this year.

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Rays Vs. Mariners: Seattle's Felix Hernandez Is Perfect Through 7 Innings

Mariners Felix Hernandez has pitched a perfect game through seven innings against the Rays.

Luke Scott, Jeff Niemann Close To Returning For Rays

Both Luke Scott and Jeff Niemann took another step forward in their rehab. The pair played in a game on Tuesday for Class A Charlotte.

Scott, who is out with an oblique injury, went 2-for-4 with a home run. He has been out since July 21 with the injury. Prior to being sidelined, Scott was hitting .225 with 12 home runs.

Niemann made his second rehab start on Tuesday. He allowed four runs in three-and-one-third innings. He has been out with a broken fibula since May 14. Prior to the injury he was 2-3 with a 3.37 ERA.

While Scott should slide back into the lineup upon his return, it is unclear whether Niemann would replace Alex Cobb in the rotation or head to the bullpen.

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Rays Vs Mariners Preview: Pitchers, Time, TV, Radio

The Rays lost for the first time in a week yesterday, having previously notched seven wins in a row. This was their longest winning streak in two years. They'll look to start a new streak tonight against the Seattle Mariners.

The Rays will send young phenom Jeremy Hellickson to the mound, who has earned a win in three of his last four starts. Hellickson posted a quality start in all five of his July outings.

Hellickson and the Rays will have their work cut out for them, as the Mariners will counter with their ace, Felix Hernandez. King Felix is on his way to posting another dominant season with a 2.74 ERA and 162 strikeouts so far. He'll be looking for his 11th win of the season.

The series finale will kick off today at 3:40 ET and will be televised on SUN Sports. You can catch the radio broadcast on WDAE 620.

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Rays Vs. Mariners: Tuesday Night's Starting Lineups

The Tampa Bay Rays will look to stretch their winning streak to eight games when they take on the Seattle Mariners Tuesday night in the Emerald City.

Only major lineup change for the Rays is Evan Longoria returns to the lineup at DH tonight after yesterday's day off. B.J. Upton will return to his usual position at centerfield after Sam Fuld manned the outfield yesterday.

Full Lineups are below:

TAMPA BAY RAYS:

Building A Better Lineup With Evan Longoria

One week into Evan Longoria's return, and the Rays have not lost yet -- but the motivating factor may not have been his return, but a perfect infield.

Rays Vs. Mariners Final: Tampa Stretches Win Streak To Seven

The Tampa Bay Rays have been on a tremendous hot streak of late. Since losing to the Baltimore Orioles on August 5th, they haven't lost a single game since. That streak continued on Monday night as the Rays got past the Seattle Mariners on the road by a final score of 4-1.

B.J. Upton registered two RBI's in the game while Desmond Jennings and Ben Zobrist contributed one RBI each. Zobrist also finished with three hits in the game.

On the mound, Alex Cobb gets credited with the win for Tampa as he pitched seven innings while giving up four hits, one earned run and striking out five Mariners batters.

Game two of the series will be played on Tuesday night with first pitch coming at 10:10 ET.

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Rays Vs. Mariners: Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The Tampa Bay Rays are in the thick of the American League Wild Card race, and they have a chance to gain some more ground on teams in the rear view mirror on Tuesday night.

Tampa will have Matt Moore on the mound against Kevin Millwood and the Seattle Mariners for the second game of their three-game set at Safeco Field.

Moore comes in with a 9-7 record and 3.73 ERA, but that's not telling of how dominant the young southpaw has been recently. In his last five starts, Moore has yielded just five runs in 30.2 innings while allowing just 20 hits. In those games, Moore has a 4-1 mark.

Millwood on the other hand is having a tough campaign. His ERA of 4.38 is respectable, but thanks to almost no run support Millwood has been saddled with 10 losses and only has four wins to his credit. In his last game, the 37-year-old surrendered seven runs on four innings to the Baltimore Orioles in a loss.

In Millwood's only appearance against the Rays this season, he gave up four runs in 6.1 frames, once again in defeat.

TV: SUN Sports

Time: 10:10 p.m. ET

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Rays Vs. Mariners: Monday Night's Starting Lineups

The Tampa Bay Rays look to continue their recent winning ways on Monday night, as they head to Seattle to open up a series against the lowly Mariners.

The Rays, who have won six in a row, seem to have been sparked by Evan Longoria's return to the lineup. Longoria, won't be in Monday night's lineup, however. Fear not, it's just a scheduled day of rest for the still-ailing All-Star third baseman.

Both Joe Maddon and Eric Wedge have announced Monday night's starting lineups, and they are as follows:

Tampa Bay Rays

LF Desmond Jennings
DH B.J. Upton
RF Matt Joyce
SS Ben Zobrist
3B Jeff Keppinger
1B Carlos Pena
2B Ryan Roberts
C Jose Molina
CF Sam Fuld

SP Alex Cobb

Seattle Mariners

1B Dustin Ackley
CF Michael Saunders
2B Kyle Seager
DH John Jaso
C Jesus Montero
LF Trayvon Robinson
RF Eric Thames
3B Chone Figgins
SS Brendan Ryan

SP Blake Beavan

Yes, Ackley and his .296 on base percentage are leading off for the Mariners tonight.

For the latest on the Rays, be sure to check out DRays Bay.

Tampa Bay Rays Could Be AL's Most Dangerous Team, According To Buster Olney

ESPN's Buster Olney wrote Monday that the Tampa Bay Rays might be the team that other squads would most like to avoid come playoff time. The primary reason for that, in Olney's estimation, is the depth of the Rays' pitching staff, particularly when compared to the staffs of the Rangers and Yankees.

Who is the team nobody wants to play in the postseason?

In the American League, that team may well be the Tampa Bay Rays, who have six straight wins, all after the return of Evan Longoria to their lineup. CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte are on the disabled list, the Rangers' rotation has been hammered by injuries and is looking for improvement out of Yu Darvish and Derek Holland, and the Angels' bullpen has become a serious problem.

Meanwhile, the Rays' pitching -- so dangerous all along -- has come together.

The Rays go for their seventh win in a row when they face the Mariners on Monday night.

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Rays Vs. Mariners: Tampa Bay Goes For Its Seventh Straight Win

Tampa Bay begins the series as the No. 1 wild card in the American League.