Matt Cain Perfect Game: The Greatest Pitching Performance in MLB History?

Matt Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in MLB history on Wednesday night.

The San Francisco Giants starter struck out fourteen Astros on his way to a 10-0 victory. It was the third no-hitter in the MLB in the past two weeks.

Johan Santana threw a no-no against the Cardinals on June 1. Six Mariners pitchers combined for one on June 8 against the Dodgers.

Of all the perfect games that the major leagues has ever seen, Cain had one of the most impressive ones. Was Cain's performance against Houston the greatest game ever pitched?

The case can certainly be made for Cain.

The pitcher's 14 strikeouts ties him for the most ever recorded in a perfect game. Sandy Koufax also struck out 14 batters in his 1965 perfect game. However, Koufax faced a much weaker lineup.

Koufax shut out a Chicago Cubs team that averaged less than four runs per game during the season. This year's Astros team isn't an offensive powerhouse, but they're better than the Cubs were 47 years ago. Houston averages 4.3 runs per contest.

David Wells and David Cone can make arguments for their no-hitters to be considered among the greatest games ever pitched. The Yankee pitchers threw perfect games in 1998 and 1999, respectively, at the height of the Steroid Era.

Cone needed the second-fewest amount of pitches to get through his perfect outing with 88. Cain set the record with 125 pitches.

Perhaps Cain's biggest competition wasn't even a perfect game.

Kerry Wood's one-hitter during his rookie season with the Cubs in 1998 ranks extremely high on the list. Wood allowed one base runner, but failed to walk a single batter. He ended the game with 20 strikeouts, tying the record for the most in a single game.

One of the most impressive things about Wood's outing was his opponent. He faced the 1998 Astros, the best offensive team in the National League. Houston scored 874 total runs that season. They had two of the top five MVP vote getters in Moises Alou and Craig Biggio.

It can be argued whether or not Cain had the best pitched game of all time, but it was likely the greatest performance ever by a Giants starter. The perfect game was the first in franchise history.