Drew Smyly, David Ross talk losing out on a perfect game

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Drew Smyly was close to becoming the first Cubs pitcher in franchise history to throw a perfect game. 

He got through nearly eight innings before David Peralta hit a soft, bunt-like hit down the third base line. Smyly and catcher Yan Gomes both went racing for the ball and ended up crashing into each other, ending Smyly's perfect game bid. 

"It's a tough way to end it," Smyly said after the game. "You feel like you're really close, execute a good curveball, barely hit it, capped it. One of us had to make the play and I know Yan wanted it just as bad as I did. That part's disappointing. I don't think it takes away from the game."

Smyly had a fantastic setup to pitch a perfect game. He came into the eighth inning just over 90 pitches into his game. 

He received plenty of rest from the uber-productive offense, too, which recorded a whopping 17 hits and scored in five of eight innings. In the fifth inning, the Cubs scored seven runs. They won the game with ease, 13-0.

When skipper David Ross was asked if he planned to give Smyly the green light into the final innings to try and achieve the mark, he responded hilariously. 

"I was gonna ride him harder than Yan did," Ross said. 

But an unfortunate miscommunication between Smyly and Gomes ruined a place in the history books. Smyly said Gomes called out to him that he had the ball, but he ignored him, thinking he would have the better play on the ball. The result because the coup de grâce to what would've been a historic day at Wrigley Field. 

On this date, former Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta pitched his second career no-hitter in 2016. And on the same date 11 years ago, White Sox pitcher Philip Humber threw a perfect game on the South Side. Smyly could've added himself to the pantheon of pitching on this date in Chicago. 

"Him and I both just looked at each other like 'I can't believe it ended like that,'" Smyly said of his and Gomes' reaction after the play. "It's just a baseball play. It happens. Sometimes you can hit a ball really hard at somebody, and sometimes you can do that. It is what it is."

RELATED: Cubs' Drew Smyly loses perfect game bid in heartbreaking fashion

Interestingly, Smyly said he felt that he executed one of his worst pregame bullpens to date, telling Gomes that sometimes, those sluggish warmups become the best games. 

He didn't think about the chance at a perfect game while it was happening. His mind wandered to the next inning, about whether or not he'd be able to get the next three batters out. By the seventh inning, his head was focused on getting it done. 

But he's not disappointed, knowing there haven't been many perfect games ever. In MLB history, there have been just 23 perfect games. 

If anything, he was happy to throw arguably the best game of his career at Wrigley Field. The crowd brought excess energy as they watched Smyly fearlessly toss his patented knuckle curveball and pair it with dazzling fastballs. The crowd at MLB's seventh-most-attended ballpark last season affected Smyly. 

"Every single game the atmosphere is off the charts compared to wherever else you go in this league," Smyly said. "They really want this team to succeed and do good. In the seventh inning, it got so loud I couldn't even hear my PitchCom."

"That's how awesome Wrigley is in that moment." 

Achieving a perfect game is baseball's most improbable, unthinkable feat. Smyly came as close as one gets to achieving the impossible. But he refuses to dwell on the miss, understanding the overwhelming odds of executing the crowning achievement in baseball. 

"I'm not disappointed, it would have been an awesome thing to happen. I'm excited to have a game win," Smyly said. 

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