Happy Jackie Robinson Day.

While donning the legendary number 42, Bartolo Colon had made the Houston Astros miserable on Jackie Robinson Day going into the 7th inning after facing 21 batters and sending each and every one of them back to the home dugout shaking their heads. Colon was nothing short of dominant through the first 7 innings and only needed 83 pitches to get through the first 21 batters.

Unfortunately for Colon and all Major League Baseball fans, Colon walked Carlos Correa on five pitches to lead off the eighth inning to end the perfect game. Despite this, the no-hitter was still intact. That too would be abolished after outfielder Josh Reddick doubled down the left field line, putting runners on second and third with no outs. Colon exited the game after 7.2 innings pitched while giving up 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 earned run and posting 7 strikeouts.

The Texas Rangers gave Bartolo Colon his only run in the top of the third inning when Robinson Chirinos hit a solo home run off of Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Verlander had quite the game himself after pitching 8 innings and only allowing 1 hit, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and 11 strikeouts.

There have been only 23 official perfect games in baseball history and if Colon had made it the 24th, then he would have bested Randy Johnson’s record for oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game at Colon’s ripe age of 44.

If the ageless wonder Bartolo Colon was able to complete the Perfect game, he would become the first Ranger to throw a no-hitter since Kenny Rogers threw a perfect game against the Rangers’ division rival California Angels on July 28, 1994. The last time the Houston Astros had a perfect game thrown against them was when Matt Cain threw a perfect game on June 13, 2012.

The game would go 10 innings after the Astros failed to score after bringing in Carlos Correa in the 8th. The Rangers would tack on 2 more runs in the top of the 10th inning and Houston would fail to come back. The Rangers won by a score of 3-1. The Rangers currently sit at the bottom of their division while the Astros are fighting to beat the Angels at the top of the AL West.

Bartolo “Big Sexy” Colon never ceases to amaze us!