The 45-Batter Streak That Almost Rewrote Baseball History: Nobody Saw It Coming

Yo, you gotta be kidding me! Did you see what went down last night? Yoshinobu Yamamoto, that dude for the Dodgers, was RIGHT THERE, standing on the edge of baseball immortality. Like, full-blown, history-book stuff! He rolled into the ninth inning with a no-hitter and had retired 45 batters in a row. Forty-five! My jaw is still on the floor after hearing about a performance like that.

The Streak That Ended One Short

This guy was absolutely dealing, cruising towards something truly special. For eight straight innings on Saturday, Yamamoto was lights out. He carried a perfect game into the eighth and a no-hitter into the ninth. He retired the first 23 batters he faced and then, get this, he extended his streak to 45 consecutive batters retired, dating back to his previous start against the Angels. That incredible run left him just ONE batter shy of tying Yusmeiro Petit's Major League Baseball record of 46, set back in 2014. The drama built with every single out. He was perfect through six. Then seven. At the end of the seventh, he had retired 43 in a row! But then, with two outs in the eighth, the perfect game vanished. White Sox leadoff hitter Chase Meidroth hit a routine grounder that took a tricky hop off Mookie Betts' glove. It was ruled an error, but that was it for perfection, and the streak ended at 45. Still, it set a new Dodgers franchise record, so there's that.

Ninth Inning Heartbreak and a Familiar Face's Blast

So, the perfect game was gone, but the no-hitter was still alive! Yamamoto came back out for the ninth inning, needing just three outs to finish it. You could feel the tension, man. But then, White Sox center fielder Tristan Peters immediately blasted a solo home run to right field. Just like that, the no-hitter was gone too. This was the second time in his MLB career that Yamamoto has lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts came out, and Yamamoto left the mound to hugs from his teammates and a standing ovation. What a performance, even without the no-no! He threw 8 1/3 innings, giving up just one hit and one run, striking out seven on 109 pitches, 74 of them strikes. Oh, and speaking of bats, Shohei Ohtani, who sat out Friday's game, came back and hit a leadoff homer in the first inning for his 14th of the season. The Dodgers rolled to a 7-1 victory, improving their record to 45-26. Man, seeing that kind of pitching dominance, it really makes you think about our guys at T-Mobile. We know what our boys can do, and we've got to keep that energy up. Our M's definitely had a tougher night on the diamond, falling 8-3 to the Washington Nationals. It's early in the season, you know? Just gotta shake it off and look ahead. Every game matters, and we're looking for our guys to bounce back and show that Emerald City grit!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.