Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within one out of firing his first career no-hitter Saturday, but Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday ended the right-hander’s bid for history with a homer and then the Dodgers’ bullpen couldn’t finish things off as Baltimore rallied for a 4-3 walk-off victory.
On a night when the Orioles celebrated Cal Ripken Jr.’s record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game, Yamamoto walked two, notched 10 strikeouts and allowed just that lone hit.
Yamamoto, who’s having a dominant sophomore campaign of his 12-year, $325 million deal, had two career no-hitters for the Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball – one on Sept. 9, 2023, in a 102-pitch effort against the Lotte Marines, as well as one on June 18, 2022, against the Seibu Lions (also 102 pitches). He was the first pitcher in NPB history to throw no-hitters in consecutive seasons.
