Dodgers Yoshinobu Yamamoto has another memorable moment but plenty more in store
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was right there. Again.Three outs.Three outs from history.Three outs from a no-hitter.Once again, Yamamoto couldn’t get them.He made a mistake and Tristan Peters punished him for it, launching his down-the-middle fastball into the right field stands at Rate Field in Chicago.The Dodgers held on to beat the White Sox, 7-1, but like the pitch that was detonated by Peters, the no-hitter was gone.The scene was reminiscent of one from September of last year, when Yamamoto was one out from no-hitting the Orioles, only to give up a home run to Jackson Holliday.Yamamoto smiled when he was reminded of that in a postgame interview with SportsNet LA.“Baseball,” he said in Japanese, “is hard.”California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedInCalifornia Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, XCalifornia Post Opinion California Post Newsletters: Sign up here!California Post App: Download here!Home delivery: Sign up here!Page Six Hollywood: Sign up here!Following the home run by Peters, Yamamoto retired Edgar Quero before he was replaced by Alex Vesia, who registered the final two outs.Yamamoto’s final line: 8 ⅓ innings, seven strikeouts, no walks, one hit.In time, memories of this game should become something Yamamoto can reflect on without any feelings of regret.Based on how he pitched Saturday, and how he has pitched a number of times this season, he will be positioned again to pitch a no-hitter.He pitched a no-hitter in each of his last two seasons in the Japanese league, and it’s really just a matter of time that he achieves the same level of mastery to do something like that in the major leagues.What he did against the White Sox wasn’t a fluke.Yamamoto has a half-dozen pitches he can throw at any count, and what chance does a hitter have against him when his fastball is humming the way it was Saturday?“It’s not just the amount of [different] pitches,” pitching coach Mark Prior said.
“It�...