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Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history Wednesday night — he got it, but it wasn’t what he initially envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was eliminated in the middle of his perfect game after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — Jones, 24, hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament surgery on May 21, 2025. He was removed with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
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Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero support, so when the Atlanta Braves scored three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the bad chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to throw at least six perfect innings and not record a victory.
“It sucks. Something cool is happening, but what am I on? My eighth start of surgery? I totally understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) takes to the field to warm up before throwing against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
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Jones said he didn’t feel like trying to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “I wasn’t really expecting to do nine right now, so it was never on my mind.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves by the Pirates on June 18, followed a Mike Yastrzemski double with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field on a Dennis Santana slider. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was knocked out of the game with a perfect six-inning offering — the Miami Marlins knocked out Eury Perez after seven innings in which he threw 92 pitches. Perez, too, is working his way back from injury and surprisingly found himself right in the middle of the playoffs.
He was removed for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics over the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during an MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)
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The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, held by the Marlins.
