The Los Angeles Dodgers experienced a dramatic loss today. Despite starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitching a no-hitter through 8.2 innings, Jackson Holliday smashed a solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to break it up. Yamamoto finished with 8.2 innings pitched, allowing only one hit and one run. However, after he left the game, the Dodgers bullpen faltered, and the Orioles scored three runs to complete a comeback, winning 4-3 and handing the Dodgers their fifth straight defeat.

Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto walked Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo consecutively in the bottom of the third, but with two outs in the ninth inning, Jackson Holliday’s solo home run not only ended the no-hitter but also dashed Yamamoto’s hopes for a complete game shutout.

The Dodgers’ recently struggling offense managed to hit 10 singles today, but their run production was underwhelming. With runners in scoring position, they went 3-for-14, scoring just three runs. Shohei Ohtani recorded one hit and one RBI in five at-bats. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Miguel Rojas each had two hits. Betts drove in a run with a sharp ground ball single in the top of the fifth and added a go-ahead RBI triple in the seventh, but the Dodgers still fell short.

Yamamoto was pulled after throwing 112 pitches, the highest pitch count of his MLB career. His 10 strikeouts in the game (the fourth time this season) tied his personal MLB record for strikeouts in a single game. Overall, he pitched 8.2 innings, allowing only one hit and one earned run. When he left the mound, his teammates gave him many encouraging hugs, while Shohei Ohtani and fans from both sides applauded enthusiastically from the stands.

However, after Blake Treinen took over the bullpen, the situation deteriorated quickly. Jeremiah Jackson hit a long ball, Gunnar Henderson was hit by a pitch, and Ryan Mountcastle drew a walk, loading the bases with two outs for the Orioles.

After a timeout, Treinen again issued a walk to Colton Cowser, allowing the Orioles to score a run. The Dodgers then had to bring in Tanner Scott, who had just given up a walk-off homer in his previous appearance, to face the crisis.

Emmanuel Rivera then lined a base hit to center field, driving in two runners and sealing a 4-3 comeback victory for the Orioles! This marked Baltimore’s fifth consecutive win, while the Dodgers suffered their fifth straight loss, and Yamamoto was denied his 12th win of the season.

Before this, only two Japanese pitchers in MLB history had thrown three no-hitters as starters. Hideo Nomo, in his second year with the Dodgers in 1996, threw the first no-hitter by a Japanese pitcher at the pitcher-unfriendly Coors Field. He threw another no-hitter in 2001 with the Boston Red Sox, coincidentally against the Orioles.

In 2015, Hisashi Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners also threw a no-hitter against the Orioles. However, today Yoshinobu Yamamoto missed becoming the fourth Japanese pitcher to accomplish this feat. Among these three Japanese no-hitters, two were pitched against the Orioles. Additionally, the most recent MLB no-hitter was a combined effort last year by the Chicago Cubs against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where Shota Imanaga pitched seven no-hit innings as the starter.

While playing for the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s NPB, Yamamoto set a record by pitching no-hitters in consecutive seasons, becoming the first pitcher to do so since the two-league era began. The last Japanese pitcher to throw a no-hitter in MLB before him was Hisashi Iwakuma on August 12, 2015, also against the Orioles. Shota Imanaga of the Chicago Cubs contributed to a combined no-hitter last September 4, pitching seven innings alongside teammates Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge.