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Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a> was an inning away from his first MLB no-hitter and an inning-plus away from the 25th perfect game in MLB history on Saturday in Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Dodgers<\/a>‘ right-hander lost a perfect game bid against the Chicago White Sox<\/a> in the eighth inning, when shortstop Mookie Betts<\/a> booted an easy ground ball from Chase Meidroth<\/a>. Second baseman Santiago Espinal<\/a> had a chance to make a play off the deflection but couldn’t get the throw off.<\/p>\n That error not only ended the perfect game bid but also ended a string of 45 straight batters retired by Yamamoto going back to his previous start. That is tied with former White Sox ace Mark Buehrle<\/a> for the second-longest such streak in MLB history, behind only Yusmeiro Petit<\/a>‘s 46 straight in 2014.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Sandy Koufax (1965) remains the only Dodger in history to throw a perfect game.<\/p>\n Yamamoto recovered with a Jacob Gonzalez groundout to end the eighth, at which point he was at 103 pitches and still chasing a no-hitter. That bid lasted two more pitches before White Sox center-fielder Tristan Peters<\/a> hammered a homer to right field to take away both the no-no and the shutout.<\/p>\n The Dodgers kept Yamamoto in the game at 105 pitches and had him get one more out on an Edgar Quero<\/a> fly ball, then pulled him for Alex Vesia<\/a>. Yamamoto went a full three times through the White Sox order, allowing only a home run and a runner who reached on an error.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He received a standing ovation on his way out<\/a>. Vesia proceeded to get the next two batters out to finish a 7-1 Dodgers win<\/a>.<\/p>\n The outing marks the second time in as many years that Yamamoto has lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning. On Sept. 6 last year, he was one out away from completing a no-no when he gave up a home run to Baltimore Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fortunately for the Dodgers, this game didn’t end like that one, in which Holliday’s homer triggered a rally to walk off the future World Series champs 4-3.<\/p>\n This outing could’ve been so much more, but it was still the kind of performance the Dodgers were looking for after a one-sided 8-2 loss on Friday. They also got some good news before this game, as Shohei Ohtani<\/a> rejoined the lineup after missing a game due to left knee inflammation.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The two-way star showed he was fine on the first swing of the game, clubbing a 409-foot homer off White Sox starter Sean Burke<\/a>. Ohtani finished the game 1-for-3 with 2 runs and 3 walks. After a slow start (by his standards), he leads the NL with a .979 OPS.<\/p>\n Yamamoto is posting a strong season overall, with a 3.17 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 85 2\/3 innings across 13 starts.<\/p>\n