Yoshinobu Yamamoto flirted with perfection on Saturday and when that opportunity was lost on a Mookie Betts error, he nevertheless remained on track for the first no-hitter of his Los Angeles Dodgers career.
But that too went by the wayside when Yamamoto surrendered a leadoff home run to Tristan Peters in the ninth inning. It marked the second time Yamamoto lost a no-hitter on a home run in the ninth inning.
Whereas the first instance resulted in a crushing walk-off loss to the Baltimore Orioles last September, the game was in hand for the Dodgers against the Chicago White Sox. Alex Vesia took over for Yamamoto with one out and finished the win without issue.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s MLB history
Despite the Dodgers’ ace falling short of the second perfect game in franchise history and their 24th no-hitter, Yamamoto still achieved an MLB first with an extended streak of retired batters in a row over multiple starts.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the @Dodgers is the only pitcher in MLB history to retire the last 22 batters of one outing and then the first 22 of his next outing. pic.twitter.com/gKA5lATUDN
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 13, 2026
Yamamoto’s stretch began against the Los Angeles Angels as he got through eight innings. He gave up an RBI triple in the first inning and then dominated the Angels from that point forward.
The MLB record for most batters retired in a row is 46, held by Yusmeiro Petit when he accomplished the feat in 2014, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Yamamoto’s streak wound up reaching 45 consecutive batters before the Betts error with two outs in the eighth inning. That’s tied with Mark Buehrle (from 2009) for the second-longest stretch in MLB history.
“The last couple outings I was feeling really good and doing great,” Yamamoto said on SportsNet LA through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “So today, I wanted to be confident and just pound the strike zone.”
There has been a growing sense around the Dodgers that Yamamoto will one day complete a no-hitter, if not a perfect game. The reigning World Series MVP has already proven plenty capable of achieving the remarkable, and acknowledged he hopes to add that type of start to his name with the Dodgers.
Yamamoto threw two no-hitters during his decorated Nippon Professional Baseball career.
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