Was Dyson's bunt to break up perfect game bush league?

Detroit Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander took a perfect game into the sixth inning Wednesday night, before having it spoiled by a one-out bunt single off the bat of Seattle Mariners speedster Jarrod Dyson.

Verlander said he had no issues with the bunt after his outing, adding that it is part of Dyson's game. This comes as a complete 180 from how Verlander dealt with a similar scenario in 2011 when he called Erick Aybar's attempt in the eighth inning of a no-hitter "bush league."

Dyson's bunt sparked plenty of debate as it went against baseball's unwritten rule. theScore's MLB editors Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb and Brandon Wile discuss whether or not bunting to break up a perfect game is acceptable:

Bunt away

This is a rare "unwritten rule" where I can sort of understand the other side, especially from Verlander's perspective. Here's a pitcher building his Hall of Fame case on the verge of becoming just the sixth man ever with at least three no-hitters to his name - not to mention closing in on the 24th perfect game since 1876 - only to have a bunt, of all things, break up his quest for history. It's understandable why a pitcher would be ticked off in that scenario, whether your name is Justin Verlander or Cy Young or Bobo Holloman.

But when these guys calm down after the moment, they need to realize something: They're playing a game called BASEball. What is the goal of baseball? To score runs. And how do you score runs? By getting on base. When Dyson bunts in the sixth inning, he's not thinking about a perfect game; rather, he's concerned with getting on base and starting a game-changing rally - which Dyson's bunt single did, as he came around to score Seattle's first run, starting a comeback that culminated in a 7-5 Mariners victory.

It's also not all on Dyson because when it comes to a perfect game, everything has to be ... well, perfect. So where was the Tigers' defense to back up its ace on this play? Check out the positioning here:

Verlander's fielding the ball, and he'll whiff on it - but if he makes this play cleanly, Dyson still reaches since Miguel Cabrera's out of position and trying to field the bunt himself. Without Verlander's bobble, blame for this is squarely on an out-of-position Miggy - since, as we all know, everything has to go perfect in a perfect game.

So while it's understandable that Verlander might be ticked, he needs to remember that Dyson was just doing what he had to do as a hitter, and the Tigers failed to cover defensively. At the end of the day, he wasn't perfect, and it's not Dyson's fault. Bunt away, folks.

- Sharkey-Gotlieb

Unacceptable, swing the bat

While this certainly wasn't Ben Davis bunting with one out in the eighth inning to break up Curt Schilling's perfect game in 2001, Dyson's stunt still skews on the side of poor baseball etiquette. Yes, the point of playing the game is to win, and you can't win without putting the ball in play, but there's something that doesn't sit right about slapping a bunt down late in a game to spoil someone's pursuit of history.

The score obviously dictates the degree of acceptability of bunting in that moment. In a one or two-run game, go for it. The Mariners were down 4-0 at the time, and although the bunt sparked a rally, go up there and swing the bat Dyson. Had the Tigers been shifting, almost daring Dyson to bunt, then I get it, but they were playing the defense straight up.

Seattle has the fourth-highest scoring offense in the American League and Verlander was completely shutting it down. There's enough thumpers in that lineup that should be capable of getting a hit, and laying down a bunt is doing a disservice to what had been an incredible performance by the pitcher (16 straight retired on 10 strikeouts). Bunting after the sixth inning to break up a perfect game - something that's only happened 23 times in MLB history - takes away from the moment. - Wile