Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto lost a bid for a perfect game during a June 13, 2026, matchup against the Chicago White Sox.
The near-historic performance highlights Yamamoto's dominance on the mound and the thin margin between a milestone and a standard victory in professional baseball.
Yamamoto entered the eighth inning at Rate Field in Chicago having retired the first 23 batters he faced [1]. The effort remained perfect through seven full innings, putting the pitcher on the verge of one of the rarest achievements in the sport [1].
The perfect game ended in the eighth inning following a soft ground ball. Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts committed a fielding error that allowed a runner to reach base, breaking the streak of retired batters.
"Oh my god, Mookie Betts just cost Yoshinobu Yamamoto a perfect game," Nelson Espinal of Heavy.com said. "Yamamoto got a soft grounder, and then Betts made an error that cost the Japanese pitcher a chance at history."
Despite the loss of the perfect game, Yamamoto maintained a no-hitter into the final frame. By the end of the eighth inning, his pitch count had reached 103 pitches [2].
The no-hitter did not survive the ninth inning. White Sox center-fielder Tristan Peters hit one home run [3], officially ending Yamamoto's bid for a hitless game.
Espinal said the no-hitter was still on immediately following the Betts error, but the late home run ensured the game would not be recorded as a no-hitter.
“Yamamoto entered the eighth inning at Rate Field in Chicago having retired the first 23 batters he faced.”
While Yamamoto did not achieve the perfect game or the no-hitter, retiring 23 consecutive batters demonstrates an elite level of command and efficiency. The event underscores how defensive reliability is as critical as pitching precision when chasing historic milestones, as a single fielding error can negate hours of perfect execution.
