John Lackey allowed a double to Mark Kotsay, the first batter he faced Friday, and then retired the next 27 Athletics batters in the Angels' 3-0 win. The last pitcher to retire 27 in a row after allowing the first batter to reach base was Jerry Reuss, who did it for the Dodgers against the Reds on June 11, 1982. Eddie Milner led off the game with a double, and he was the last batter to reach base against Reuss.
No pitcher had retired 27 consecutive batters at any point since Livan Hernandez retired 28 in a row over two starts in July 2004.