Three pitchers combined on a perfect game as the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, defeated the Aberdeen IronBirds, 2-0, on Friday night.
Khristian Curtis started and went six innings, striking out 10. Jake Shirk followed with two perfect frames, fanning four. Michael Walsh wrapped it up with two strikeouts in the ninth, including one of Aberdeen catcher Cole Urman to finish it off.
???? GREENSBORO SPINS A PERFECT GAME ????@Pirates prospects Khristian Curtis, Jake Shirk + Michael Walsh (@GSOHoppers) spin the first 9-inning perfecto at the affiliate-level since 2017 ???? pic.twitter.com/wJhV2atQG9
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 5, 2025
It was the first nine-inning perfect game in affiliated minor league baseball since 2017 and the first perfect game for a Pirates affiliate since John Wasdin retired 27 straight batters for the Nashville Sounds in a 4-0 win over the Albuquerque Isotopes in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League on April 7, 2003.
Curtis, 23, was the Pirates’ 12th-round pick in the 2023 draft out of Arizona State. He is 3-4 witha 4.70 ERA this season.
Shirk, 23, was the team’s 18th-round pick in the 2024 draft out of Wright State. He is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four appearances with Greensboro after being called up from Bradenton.
Walsh, 24, was the Pirates’ ninth-round pick in the 2022 draft out of Yale. He is 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA and four saves this season.
Greensboro is one of the top teams in the South Atlantic League. The Grasshoppers finished the first half of the season one-half game out of first place in the North Division with a 45-20 record. They’re the best team in the second half so far, going 10-3.
