Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto loses no-hitter at last possible second in devastating fashion

With a full house of Baltimore Orioles fans gathered at Camden Yards to honor 30 years of history, they were nearly gifted with an all-new touchstone, courtesy of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the end, though, someone they hope to be Cal Ripken's heir apparent took the air out of things in jarring fashion.

There usually comes a point in every no-hit bid where you lose yourself to the moment and allow yourself to believe. A brilliant defensive play. A borderline call that goes your way. The 104th pitch of the evening being delivered with extra verve that makes your eyes pop. In this game, there wasn't really that moment; that's how dominant Yoshinobu Yamamoto was every step of the way. Dodgers fans can't point to a singular play where the reality locked in. Instead, felt like he had it in the bag from innings one through nine.

Or, as it turned out, one through eight-and-two-thirds.

Though he'd passed an MLB career high pitch count during the game's final batter (we hoped) Jackson Holliday, Yamamoto looked as strong at the end of this one as he did at the start. He sprinted to first base to absorb the throw and record the final out of the seventh, springing off the rubber like an energetic bunny doing morning calisthenics. He taught Alex Jackson, the leadoff hitter in the ninth, a devious lesson, getting him to swing and miss in three distinct manners en route to an overpowering out. There seemed to be no doubt he'd retire Holliday; the only question was how long the at-bat lingered.

Until, suddenly, the celebratory balloon - coincidentally reading 2,131, perhaps? - was pricked by the Orioles' second-year second baseman. Holliday hasn't quite been what the O's were envisioning when they selected him first overall, but when it mattered most on Saturday, his quick-twitch tools were on full display. With two strikes to go before history could be written in ink, Holliday took aim at, and barely cleared, the right field wall.

Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto loses no-hitter on Jackson Holliday two-out home run in ninth inning

Yamamoto will have another night like tonight. He will toe the rubber once more and be in complete and total control, rocking like the crashing waves and delivering pill after disappearing pill. He will vex and confound. He will overpower and dazzle. But he may never reach this point again. There hasn't been a no-hitter thrown in 2025. There typically aren't one-man no-hit bids these days in the era of pitch count hawkery (Dodgers fans know that as well as anyone).

But just because the final out wasn't recorded before the villain's counter-move doesn't mean Saturday will be forgotten. It will just be remembered for a reason we weren't hoping for: a pregame fit for a Hall of Famer, and a final thump that made him smile. It will be hard to separate Yamamoto's art from the compounding series of disasters engineered by the "artists" Blake Treinen and Tanner Scott. But we will have to try. We weill have to compartmentalize and try.