During the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history, Sam Fuld accomplished more than anyone else against Seattle hurler Felix Hernandez — and it wasn’t much. He was the only Tama Bay hitter not to strike out.

Fuld came within one pitch of drawing a walk against King Felix, and the Durham native lined out twice. Hernandez reached a three-ball count three times, including a fourth-inning exchange against the Tampa Bay leadoff hitter. Fuld, who earlier ripped a shot to right fielder Eric Thames (an ex-Fisher Cat), lined out to third baseman Kyle Seager.

“We knew (Hernandez) had been throwing the ball well and just had a two-hitter against the Yankees. He throws four above-average pitches, and he was locating them all against us,” Fuld said. “It seemed like he fed off the crowd’s energy and kept picking up steam as the game went along. He was just as devastating in the ninth inning as he was at any other point in the game.”

Fuld earned a start in left field, batting leadoff. In the first inning, he jumped on a 2-1 fastball, sending Thames to the warning track. The fly ball would have been a home run at most any other ballpark, but it was the first of 27 consecutive outs at Safeco Field.

“I hit that ball almost as well as I can hit a ball,” Fuld said. “The ball wasn’t carrying that well, but I thought I had a good chance of it falling for an extra-base hit. I felt good throughout the day. In my next at-bat I lined out to third. It was a combination of some bad aiming and being a little unlucky. I was pretty happy with how I battled back and got the count to 3-2 (in the fourth inning).”

By the seventh inning, everyone in the ballpark knew Hernandez was on the verge of something special. Fuld again led off, falling into an 0-2 hole. He didn’t offer on two straight off-speed pitches that missed low before grounding out to second base.

“From a hitter’s perspective, there’s no pressure on you. That late in the game, it’s all on the pitcher. It’s great if you can be the one that breaks up a perfect game,” Fuld said. “It was on my mind. I tried showing a bunt to try and mess with his rhythm and thinking. It didn’t do much.”

The 30-year-old old Fuld, who played at Phillips Exeter Academy and Stanford University, has another good story to tell the grandkids someday.

“Obviously, you want to win every game you can, but I think we’ll all look back at that game as a pretty special moment in baseball. I’d never been involved in a no-hitter or perfect game at any level,” he said. “After the game, we were all pretty quiet and disappointed about the (1-0) loss. We had a chance to win it right there until the end even though it was a perfect game. Collectively, it was pretty quiet in the clubhouse. All we could do was tip our hat.”

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FISHER TRACKS: The Blue Jays lost eight of 10 in a recent stretch while ex-Fisher Cats outfielder Moises Sierra was among the few bright spots. Sierra homered twice in three days against the White Sox and went 14-for-42 (.333) in his first 14 games in the majors. Sierra’s second homer at Rogers Centre was estimated at 418 feet.

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FARM REPORT: Kennett High of Conway graduate Jeff Locke joined the Pirates for two weeks, serving as long reliever, before being optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis last week. Locke, a lifelong starter, made two scoreless appearances from the bullpen. The southpaw allowed only one hit in 4 1/3 innings while pitching against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers.

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WOOD BATS: Congratulations to the Nashua Silver Knights, who again captured the Futures Collegiate Baseball League championship with a 6-2 win over the North Shore Navigators. Local products Connor Lyons from Trinity High of Manchester, an outfielder at Northeastern University, had two hits in Game 1 of the best-of-three series. Southern New Hampshire slugger Jon Minucci went 3-for-4 in the series opener supplied a clutch two-run single in the Game 2. Merrimack High’s Logan Gillis, an infielder at Bentley University, led the Knights in hitting this season, batting .333 with a team-high 43 runs.

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Staff writer Kevin Gray covers pro baseball for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News. His email address is kgray@unionleader.com. Twitter: @graymatter11.