The Athletics announced on Saturday that pitcher Justin Duchscherer will undergo season-ending surgery on the left hip that limited him to five starts this year. Dr. Thomas Byrd, who twice operated on Duchscherer's right hip, will perform the surgery at a date to be determined to correct a femoral acetabular impingement.

The Athletics have given starting pitcher Dallas Braden a ring featuring 27 diamonds around its base for the 27 straight outs he recorded and another 51 on the face for his uniform number. Braden's grandmother is being gifted her own pendant version. He was honored Friday night for his perfect game on May 9 in a ceremony before the team played the Giants.

Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez is injured and has acknowledged that his career might be over. "It might be," Chavez said Saturday. "I don't know what the future's going to hold." Oakland placed him on the disabled list because of what he called two bulging disks in his neck.

Athletics left-hander Dallas Braden was given a legitimate samurai sword in the wake of his perfect game on May 9. Mizuno honored one of their clients, Braden, with an actual nihontō, the blade of Japanese warriors of yore. Oakland teammate Brad Ziegler took a few pictures and posted them to his Twitter account.

Dallas Braden appeared on the Tuesday night episode of David Letterman and read the top-10 list. These were the "Top 10 thoughts" of Braden during his perfect 4-0 game against the Rays: No. 10: "Grandma's right. Stick it, A-Rod." No. 9: "I did it! Oh crap, it's only the 4th inning." No. 8: "Seriously, how cool a name is Dallas Braden?" No. 7: "Now maybe Justin Bieber will notice me." No. 6: "I must not tell the world I'm Iron Man." No. 5: "This is something they can never take away from me. But for $50,000, you can have my glove." No. 4: "This next pitch, eyes closed." No. 3: "Even I've never heard of me." No. 2: "I should at least give up one hit so I don't have to do Letterman." No. 1: "Maybe I can give Kate Hudson a call."

Evan Longoria attempted a bunt in the fifth inning against Dallas Braden on Sunday. Braden went on to throw a perfect game, just the 19th in baseball history. Longoria was leading off the inning. The move was considered a no-no by some even though he eventually struck out. "I didn't think so," Longoria said. "He didn't seem too upset by it either. Obviously, he understood what he had going. He had everybody off-balance. I figured I'd try to take the opportunity there, maybe it stays fair and we get a runner on. At that point, you're really not thinking about the guy's perfect game or no-hitter, you're just trying to get back into the game. It was a manageable game. Get somebody on and try and score."

The Athletics could recall Jack Cust from the minor leagues sooner rather than later. Oakland's designed hitter, Eric Chavez, has a slugging percentage of just .318 this season. Meanwhile, Cust is in Triple-A Sacramento hitting .300 with a .475 on-base percentage and has reached base 12 times in his past four games. He has also reduced his strikeouts, having fanned just 23 times in 140 plate appearances.

Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden became the 19th pitcher in Major League history to throw a perfect game on Sunday. Braden dazzled the Rays as Oakland won 4-0. Ironically, Tampa Bay was on the wrong end of baseball's last perfect game. Mark Buehrle tossed a gem for the White Sox on July 23, 2009 and Chicago topped the Rays 5-0. Since the first perfect game was thrown, in 1880, some impressive and notable names has achieved the feat -- Cy Young, Don Larsen, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, David Wells, David Cone and Randy Johnson. The achievement itself is very rare. Consider all the games that are played each season. Now consider that a perfect game is only thrown about once every seven years. There were just 11 perfect games in baseball's first 100 years, but we've enjoyed eight in the last 22 years. Thirteen of the 19 pitchers won more than 100 games in their career. In addition, seven won more than 200 games and just a pair tallied more than 300 victories in their career. Braden, who is still very early in his career, has a win-loss record of 17-23. Only four of the 19 "perfect" pitchers have finished their careers with more losses than wins. That includes Don Larsen, who was 81-91, and Len Barker, who went 74-76. At this point, Charlie Robertson, who threw his perfect game for the White Sox on April 30, 1922, is the "worst" pitcher to accomplish the feat. Robertson had a carer mark of 49-80 with an ERA of 4.44 in an era when hitters weren't as dominant. His perfect effort came in just his third big-league start. What's more ironic than anything, even his inexperience and losing mark, is that Oakland's Braden was in danger of being known more for his recent feud with Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez than anything else. Now, Braden has one of the most elusive achievements in sports on his record. Throwing a perfect game doesn't ensure a stellar career, but of the 19 men that have done so, more have been above-average than below-average. Including Cy Young (511) and Braden (17), pitchers that have thrown a no-hitter have averaged 176 wins and 128 losses. It remains to be seen how Braden's career will play out. Will he be a Charlie Robertson or perhaps a Kenny Rogers?

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was reluctant to, but commented on Oakland starter Dallas Braden's perfect game on Sunday night. "No more about him, please," Rodriguez said before opening up a little later. "I've learned in my career, it is much better to be recognized for all the great things you do on the field," Rodriguez said. "Good for him, he threw a perfect game. And better yet, he beat the Rays." Rodriguez and Braden starting feuding on April 22 when the Yankee walked across the mound against the Athletics.

Dallas Braden has thrown a perfect game for the Athletics in a 4-0 victory over the Rays, according to an Associated Press report. Braden threw his arms in the air after Gabe Kapler grounded out to shortstop for the final out on Sunday.