Yoshinobu Yamamoto was five outs away from perfection Saturday against the White Sox when Mookie Betts booted a routine grounder at shortstop.
The Dodgers right-hander had cruised through Chicago’s lineup for 22 consecutive outs, putting him one away from tying the MLB record for consecutive batters retired. Then came a ground ball that should’ve been an easy play.
“Oh man. Mookie Betts just booted a grounder at shortstop on what looked like a high hop at the last second. Official scorer immediately rules it an error, so the no-hitter is still alive. But Yamamoto falls one out short of the MLB record for consecutive batters retired,” California Post’s Jack Harris wrote.
The perfect game was gone, but Yamamoto still had a shot at a no-hitter.
He couldn’t finish it.
A solo homer in the ninth ended that bid too, marking the second straight season Yamamoto’s lost a no-hit bid in the final frame. What started as a potential perfect game turned into just another solid outing.
“Just a routine ground ball that I missed. I’m not making any excuses. I should have made the play,” Betts told the media.
That’s the thing about these moments – they hinge on plays that get made thousands of times during a season. Betts knows he makes that play nine times out of 10. The timing just couldn’t have been worse.
Still, there’s something to be said for how the ninth-inning homer probably takes some of the sting away. If Yamamoto had completed the no-hitter after Betts’ error, that mistake would’ve been the only thing standing between him and perfection. Instead, it became just one of two things that went wrong.
For Yamamoto, it’s another case of getting tantalizingly close to history. For Betts, it’s the kind of play that’ll stick with him – the type every fielder dreads making in a big spot.
The way these things go, if a similar situation comes up again, Betts will be locked in. That’s usually how it works.
