Brandon Young entered his start on Friday against the Astros looking for his first career win. He nearly threw the first perfect game in Orioles history.
The right-hander, in his 11th career start, was perfect through 7.2 innings, but he gave up an infield single to Ramon Urias to lose what would have been the second perfect game by a rookie in MLB history.
Young was Baltimore's minor league pitcher of the year last season after posting strong numbers across two levels. He had a 4.09 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 22 innings over seven Double-A outings. In Triple-A, Young recorded a 3.44 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 89 innings over 20 games. That success hadn't translated to the majors until Saturday night.
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While he missed out on history, Young did pick up his first career win and certainly had a night to remember on the mound.
Here's a look at Brandon Young and his near-perfect game.
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Who is Brandon Young?
Young, 26, is a rookie right-hander for the Orioles who was starting just his 11th game in the Major Leagues. He signed with Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2020 out of Louisiana-Lafayette.
After having Tommy John surgery in 2022, he worked his way through four levels of the minor leagues in 2023 and was named the Orioles' minor league pitcher of the year in 2024.
Brandon Young loses perfect game vs. Astros
Young almost tossed the Orioles' first perfect game, taking his bid at history into the eighth inning before losing it in heartbreaking fashion on an infield single by Ramon Urias.
Brandon Young was four outs away from a perfect game, but lost it on this play.pic.twitter.com/8AqihWUNlN
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) August 16, 2025
Young's final line included eight innings pitched with one hit, no walks, no earned runs, and six strikeouts.
This would have been the first perfect game in MLB since 2023, when the Yankees' Domingo German threw one against the Athletics. Baltimore has 10 no-hitters in franchise history, including Jim Palmer in 1969 and most recently John Means in 2021.
MORE: All-time list of MLB perfect games and more about exclusive club
Brandon Young stats
Young picked up the first win of his career and reached the seventh inning for the first time at the Major League level. His best MLB start prior to Friday came against the Blue Jays on July 29, when he struck out six over six innings with two walks and two earned runs. Here's a look at Young's stats this season.
| W | L | ERA | G | GS | SV | IP | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 5.68 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 52.1 | 46 | 1.49 |
Perfect games in MLB history
Here's the complete list of perfect games since 1876, the first year of the National League.
| Date | Pitcher | Team | Opponent | Pitches/K |
| June 12, 1880 | Lee Richmond | Worcester Worcesters | Cleveland Blues | NA/5 |
| June 17, 1880 | John Mongtomery Ward | Providence Grays | Buffalo Bisons | NA/5 |
| May 5, 1904 | Cy Young | Boston Americans | Philadelphia Athletics | NA/8 |
| Oct. 2, 1908 | Addie Joss | Cleveland Naps | Chicago White Sox | 74/3 |
| April 30, 1922 | Charlie Robertson | Chicago White Sox | Detroit Tigers | 90/6 |
| Oct. 8, 1956 | Don Larsen | New York Yankees | Brooklyn Dodgers | 97/7 |
| June 21, 1964 | Jim Bunning | Philadelphia Phillies | New York Mets | 90/10 |
| Sept. 9, 1965 | Sandy Koufax | Los Angeles Dodgers | Chicago Cubs | 113/14 |
| May 8, 1968 | Catfish Hunter | Oakland Athletics | Minnesota Twins | 107/11 |
| May 15, 1981 | Len Barker | Cleveland | Toronto Blue Jays | 103/11 |
| Sept. 30, 1984 | Mike Witt | California Angels | Texas Rangers | 94/10 |
| Sept. 16, 1988 | Tom Browning | Cincinnati Reds | Los Angeles Dodgers | 100/7 |
| July 28, 1991 | Dennis Martinez | Montreal Expos | Los Angeles Dodgers | 95/5 |
| July 28, 1994 | Kenny Rogers | Texas Rangers | California Angels | 98/8 |
| May 17, 1998 | David Wells | New York Yankees | Minnesota Twins | 120/11 |
| July 18, 1999 | David Cone | New York Yankees | Montreal Expos | 88/10 |
| May 18, 2004 | Randy Johnson | Arizona Diamondbacks | Atlanta Braves | 117/13 |
| July 23, 2009 | Mark Buehrle | Chicago White Sox | Tampa Bay Rays | 116/6 |
| May 9, 2010 | Dallas Braden | Oakland Athletics | Tampa Bay Rays | 109/6 |
| May 29, 2010 | Roy Halladay | Philadelphia Phillies | Florida Marlins | 115/11 |
| April 21, 2012 | Philip Humber | Chicago White Sox | Seattle Mariners | 96/6 |
| June 13, 2012 | Matt Cain | San Francisco Giants | Houston Astros | 125/14 |
| Aug. 15, 2012 | Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | Tampa Bay Rays | 113/12 |
| June 28, 2023 | Domingo German | New York Yankees | Oakland Athletics | 99/9 |
MORE: The most recent no-hitter for all 30 MLB teams