Yoshinobu Yamamoto Was Four Outs From History, And Mookie Betts Kicked It Away

Yo, you gotta be kidding me! You guys SEE what went down Saturday? Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on the verge of making history, then it all just... slipped away. Heart-wrenching stuff. Four outs from a perfect game, then three outs from a no-hitter, and poof. GONE.

Perfection Denied by an Error

Seriously, this dude was lights out! Yamamoto carved up the White Sox, throwing 8 1/3 innings, allowing only two baserunners, and racking up seven strikeouts in their 7-1 win. But the *real* story? The history he almost made. Yamamoto had retired 22 straight batters in his previous Angels start, then sat down another 23 White Sox in a row. That's 45 consecutive batters retired! It ties Mark Buehrle for the second-longest in MLB history. Only Yusmeiro Petit has done more. Forty-five straight, that’s just wild!

He was four outs from a perfect game. Two outs in the eighth, Chase Meidroth hits a routine grounder to shortstop. Mookie Betts? BOOTS IT. Just like that, the dream was gone. First baserunner, on an error. Betts admitted, "Just a routine ground ball that I missed. Not making any excuses." Man, you hate to see it.

No-No Snatched, The Comeback Ahead

Okay, so the perfect game is toast, but the no-no is still alive! Three outs to go in the bottom of the ninth. You're on the edge of your seat, right? Then Tristan Peters steps up and SMASHES a home run. Just like that, the no-hitter was gone too. One swing. Yamamoto still got Edgar Quero to fly out, ending his night after a season-high 109 pitches. You can feel the sting.

Yamamoto, through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda, expressed regret for not getting the no-hitter but was "pretty satisfied" with his pitching. His coach, Mark Prior, called it "another special night for him," believing it’s "only a matter of time" until his Major League no-hitter. Peters, the guy who broke it up, even called Yamamoto's command "the best command of the zone that I’ve ever faced." Prior said this guy is a surgeon, calculated with his pitches across all four quadrants.

This isn't his first near-miss either; he came close in Baltimore last September. Even his catcher, Dalton Rushing, and Betts were reportedly frustrated by their roles. But Rushing knows the deal, saying "he did his job and he gave us more than a chance to win this game today." That's the mindset, right?

It's rough, man. To come that close, twice in one night, it stings for us fans watching, and you know it stings for him too. But Yamamoto doesn't let disappointment hang around. He's got that next-level drive. With two no-hitters already in Nippon Professional Baseball, you just know that first MLB no-hitter is coming. It's not a question of *if*, but *when*. And when it happens, you know we'll be here talking about it. Keep your eyes peeled, folks. This kid is special, and that history is just waiting to be made.

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