Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within one inning of a no-hitter and even closer to a perfect game before one defensive mistake and one swing changed everything in Chicago. The Dodgers right-hander still finished with one of his sharpest outings of the season, and Los Angeles went on to beat the White Sox 7-1.
The perfect game bid ended in the eighth inning when Mookie Betts booted a routine ground ball from Chase Meidroth. Santiago Espinal had a chance to recover the play, but he could not get the throw off, and the error also snapped Yamamoto’s run of 45 straight batters retired dating back to his previous start.
Perfect Game Bid Ends, But The Dominance Stayed
Yamamoto responded immediately by getting Jacob Gonzalez to ground out and finish the inning at 103 pitches. He then carried the no-hitter into the ninth before Tristan Peters broke it up with a home run to right field, taking away both the no-hit bid and the shutout.
The Dodgers left him in for one more batter, and Yamamoto got Edgar Quero to fly out before being lifted for Alex Vesia at 105 pitches. Vesia recorded the final two outs to close out the win.
A Familiar Late Twist For Yamamoto
sports.yahoo.com noted that this was the second straight year Yamamoto has lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning. On Sept. 6 last year, he was one out from completing one before Jackson Holliday homered for the Baltimore Orioles.
That earlier game ended in a rally and a walk-off loss for the Dodgers, but Saturday’s outcome stayed firmly in their control. Yamamoto also tied former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle for the second-longest streak of consecutive batters retired in MLB history, behind only Yusmeiro Petit’s 46 in 2014.
Ohtani Returns And Delivers Early Power
Shohei Ohtani rejoined the lineup after missing a game because of left knee inflammation, and he announced his return quickly. He opened the game with a 409-foot home run off White Sox starter Sean Burke and finished 1-for-3 with two runs and three walks.
After a slower start by his own standards, Ohtani now leads the NL with a .979 OPS. Yamamoto, meanwhile, improved an already strong season line that now sits at a 3.17 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings across 13 starts.
It was the kind of outing the Dodgers needed after a one-sided 8-2 loss on Friday, and it also underlined how close Yamamoto came to history before the White Sox finally got to him. Sandy Koufax remains the only Dodgers pitcher ever to throw a perfect game.
