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 17th perfect game all-time in the regular season, a 5-0 victory Thursday.

"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 Arizona's Randy Johnson 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.