Domingo German’s historic night would not have looked the same if not for one great defensive play.

Anthony Rizzo made a diving stop at first base on a sharp ground ball from Oakland outfielder Seth Brown in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s game, saving a hit – and the Yankees pitcher’s run at a perfect game.

Rizzo laid out to glove the ball, which was laced up the first-base line with an exit velocity of 106.5 mph and appeared to be heading for an extra-base hit.

After corralling the ball, Rizzo calmly tossed it to German, who covered first base for the out.

The rest of the night was history. German retired the next 13 batters en route to 27 straight – good for the fourth perfect game in Yankees history (following Don Larsen, David Cone and David Wells).

It was also the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history and first since Aug. 15, 2012, when then-Mariners ace Felix Hernandez accomplished the feat.

The turnaround for German was stunning. Between his past two starts against Seattle and Boston, German had allowed 17 runs in just 5 1/3 innings.

Rizzo’s amazing defensive play surely helped – as did facing the MLB-worst Oakland A’s lineup.