CHICAGO — The 105th pitch of Mark Buehrle's day broke in toward Gabe Kapler, who turned on it and connected. Buehrle looked up and knew — his perfect game was in jeopardy.

Just in as a defensive replacement, Chicago White Sox center fielder DeWayne Wise sprinted toward the fence in left-center, a dozen strides. What happened next would be either a moment of baseball magic or the ninth-inning end of Buehrle's bid for perfection against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Wise jumped and extended his right arm above the top of the 8-foot wall. The ball landed in his glove's webbing but then popped out for a split second as he was caroming off the wall and stumbling on the warning track. Wise grabbed it with his bare left hand, fell to the ground and rolled. He bounced up, proudly displaying the ball for the crowd.

Magic. A home run turned into an out.

His biggest threat behind him, Buehrle coolly closed out the 18th perfect game in major league history, a 5-0 victory yesterday.

"I was hoping it was staying in there, give him enough room to catch it. I know the guys were doing everything they could to save the no-hitter, the perfect game, whatever it might be," said Buehrle, who has now thrown two no-hitters in his career.

Wise knew the stakes.

"I was with the Braves in '04 and I was there when Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks pitched a perfect game. So I've been on both sides of it," he said. "It was probably the best catch I've ever made because of the circumstances.

"It was kind of crazy, man, because when I jumped, the ball hit my glove at the same time I was hitting the wall. So I didn't realize I had caught it until I fell down and the ball was coming out of my glove, so I reached out and grabbed it."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was happy he made the switch to Wise, who came in at center while Scott Podsednik shifted to left and Carlos Quentin was pulled out.

"I guess that's our job," Guillen said.

Buehrle fell behind 3-1 in the count to Michel Hernandez, the second batter in the ninth, who took a called strike and then swung and missed at strike three.

With fans chanting Buehrle's name, Jason Bartlett got ahead 2-1, then grounded to shortstop Alexei Ramirez, who threw to first baseman Josh Fields. Buehrle put both hands on his head and was mobbed by teammates between the mound and first base.

"Never thought I'd throw a no-hitter, never thought I'd throw a perfect game, never thought I'd hit a home run," said Buehrle, who has done all three. "Never say never in this game because crazy stuff can happen."

The pitcher received a congratulatory telephone call from President Barack Obama — a White Sox fan — following the 16th perfect game since the modern era began in 1900 and the first since Johnson's on May 18, 2004.

"We joked around, a 30-second phone call, and I'm like 'What? That's all he's got for me?' " Buehrle said.

Obama, a lefty like Buehrle, wore a White Sox jacket when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at last week's All-Star game in St. Louis.

"I told him how surprised I was that he actually did it," Buehrle said. "He said, 'Congratulations, and it's an honor. A lot of people are going to remember this forever.' "

Backed by Fields' second-inning grand slam, Buehrle (11-3) threw 76 of 116 pitches for strikes and fanned six, helping Chicago move within a percentage point of AL Central-leading Detroit.

In a 6-0 win over Texas on April 18, 2007, Buehrle also faced the minimum 27 batters. He walked Sammy Sosa in the fifth inning of that game, then picked him off two pitches later.

"I bought everyone watches after the last one. That was an expensive no-hitter," Buehrle said. "This one will probably be more expensive."

ANGELS 6, TWINS 5

Howie Kendrick's single ricocheted off second base in the ninth inning to drive in the tying run, and Mike Napoli's run-scoring double in the 10th capped host Los Angeles' 31st comeback victory.

After Gary Matthews Jr. cut Minnesota's lead to 5-4 with an RBI single off Joe Nathan in the ninth, Kendrick's grounder up the middle eluded Nathan and then hit second base, preventing the Twins from making a forceout or a play at the plate as Napoli scampered home.

In the 10th, Napoli ripped a long drive to the wall off Jesse Crain (2-4) to plate Chone Figgins.

YANKEES 6, ATHLETICS 3

Mark Teixeira homered and drove in three runs, CC Sabathia recovered from a shaky start and host New York extended its winning streak to seven with the rain-delayed victory.

After sitting through a rain delay of 2 hours, 43 minutes, the Yankees overcame an early three-run deficit and handed rookie Vin Mazzaro (2-7) his seventh consecutive loss.

Sabathia (10-6) allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings.

MARINERS 2, TIGERS 1

Jarrod Washburn pitched seven scoreless innings for visiting Seattle.

Washburn (8-6) allowed two hits and two walks as the Mariners won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Seattle took a 1-0 lead in the first on Mike Sweeney's RBI double and made it 2-0 in the sixth on a run-scoring grounder by Wladimir Balentien.

INDIANS 5, BLUE JAYS 4

Rookie David Huff won for the first time in three starts and Shin-Soo Choo tripled home two runs in the fifth for visiting Cleveland.

Huff (5-4) allowed four runs and eight hits in 7 2/3 innings.

He walked one and struck out four.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PHILLIES 9, PADRES 4

Cole Hamels pitched seven effective innings, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz both had three hits and host Philadelphia beat San Diego.

Hamels (6-5) allowed three runs and four hits, striking out six.

He won for the second time in nine starts.

CARDINALS 4, NATIONALS 1, 6 INNINGS

Adam Wainwright pitched six strong innings and Rick Ankiel broke a five-week homer drought as visiting St. Louis snapped a three-game losing skid with a rain-shortened victory.

Wainwright (11-6) allowed one run and eight hits in the 19th consecutive start he has gone at least six innings.

He walked one and struck out seven.

GIANTS 5, BRAVES 1

Barry Zito gave up three hits in seven innings and visiting San Francisco avoided a four-game sweep.

Zito (6-10) walked five but gave up one run, Yunel Escobar's second-inning homer, and San Francisco scored four unearned runs in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie.

DIAMONDBACKS 11, PIRATES 4

Miguel Montero doubled in the go-ahead run in a five-run seventh and pinch-hitter Chad Tracy capped the inning with a three-run home run, leading host Arizona over Pittsburgh.

The Diamondbacks' bullpen retired all 12 batters it faced after Dan Haren had an off night, giving up four runs in five innings.

NOTES

Astros: Houston slugger Lance Berkman has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left calf. Berkman has missed five starts with the injury, but the Astros had hoped he would heal quickly and could avoid a stint on the DL. Berkman has 18 home runs and 55 RBIs and is hitting .273 in 89 games this season.

Steroids: Jim Parque, a former pitcher for the White Sox and Tampa Bay, says he used human growth hormone "about six times" after he was cut by Chicago in 2002 and before he tried a comeback with the Rays the following season. Parque says he tried HGH in a bid to recover from a shoulder injury that he blames for derailing his career.

Trade: The Cleveland Indians have traded reliever Rafael Betancourt to Colorado for minor league pitcher Connor Graham. In 29 appearances this season, Betancourt, 34, is 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA. The right-hander has given up 25 hits and struck out 32 in 30 2/3 innings. Betancourt has spent his entire seven-year career with Cleveland.

Royals: Kansas City right fielder Jose Guillen is headed to the 15-day disabled list after spraining his right knee while putting on his shin guard against the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday night.

Phillies: Philadelphia relievers J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin were placed on the 15-day disabled list. Romero has a strained left forearm and Durbin strained a muscle in his back.