Yamamoto joins exclusive club by retiring 45 straight batters

Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto came oh so close to throwing the 25th perfect game in MLB history with a gem against the White Sox in a 7-1 win on Saturday in Chicago. Prior to an E-6 with two outs in the eighth inning, Yamamoto had retired 45 consecutive batters, which tied him for second in MLB history.

Here’s a look at the six longest streaks of consecutive batters retired in the Expansion Era (since 1961) -- the top three of which are the three longest in MLB history:

1. Yusmeiro Petit, Giants: 46 (2014)

In theory, Petit, who would ultimately spend 14 very low-key seasons in the Majors, seems an unlikely suspect, but not a year before he set this record, he came within a batter of throwing a perfect game on Sept. 6, 2013. Petit's record-setter opened far more quietly on July 22, 2014, with the final out of a rough five innings against the Phillies.

In the five weeks before he'd get another start for the Giants, he made six relief appearances, across which he retired another 37 batters in a row. When he was finally tabbed for another start -- which he made in place of two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum on Aug. 28 -- he retired the first eight batters he faced before his unlikely run ended in an appropriately strange way, on a double by his counterpart, Rockies starter Jordan Lyles.

Although this list in its entirety only goes back to 1961, in all of Major League history, there are only three recorded streaks of at least 45 consecutive batters retired, meaning that Petit's 46 in a row is in fact the longest on record.

2-T. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers: 45 (2026)

With two outs in the first inning of his June 6 start against the Angels at Dodger Stadium, Yamamoto surrendered an RBI triple to Oswald Peraza. From that point, he would retire 45 consecutive batters from Nolan Schanuel to end that frame through Braden Montgomery of the White Sox to complete the second out of the eighth inning in his next start on June 13 at Rate Field in Chicago. The next batter, Chase Meidroth, hit a ground ball to shortstop, which Mookie Betts wasn’t able to field cleanly, enabling Meidroth to reach.

Yamamoto, the MVP of the 2025 World Series, carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning but lost it on a solo homer by Tristan Peters. Still, the right-hander lowered his season ERA to 2.52 with a five-start stretch over which he posted a 1.01 ERA.

2-T. Mark Buehrle, White Sox: 45 (2009)

The 2009 campaign was special for Buehrle, who threw the 18th perfect game in MLB history against the Rays on July 23. Those 27 outs, combined with the final out he recorded in his previous start on July 18, and the first 17 batters he faced in his start on July 28, gave him 45 straight retired. The streak was broken up by the Twins’ Alexi Casilla with two outs in the sixth inning at the Metrodome.

4-T. Bobby Jenks, White Sox: 41 (2007)

A teammate of Buehrle’s with the White Sox from 2005-10, Jenks had a career year in ’07, when he picked up 40 saves for Chicago and was selected as an All-Star for the second straight year. It was in that season that he also retired 41 consecutive batters over 15 appearances from July 17-Aug. 20.

4-T. Jim Barr, Giants: 41 (1972)

Barr spent 10 of his 12 Major League seasons with the Giants, including in 1972, when he pitched to a 2.87 ERA over 44 appearances (18 starts). Over a two-start span from Aug. 23-29, Barr retired 41 consecutive batters.

The run began in the top of the third inning against the Pirates at Candlestick Park on Aug. 23, when Barr followed a leadoff walk to Bob Moose by inducing a ground ball from Vic Davalillo that resulted in a forceout. It ended with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning during his next start at St. Louis, where he gave up a double to the Cardinals’ Bernie Carbo.

6. Tom Browning, Reds: 40 (1988)

Browning, a mainstay in the Reds rotation in the late '80s and early '90s, authored the 12th perfect game in Major League history on Sept. 16, 1988, but at the time he completed his masterpiece, he had retired 38 Dodgers in a row rather than the standard 27. That was because it was in fact his second consecutive start against Los Angeles, and he'd wrapped that previous outing by retiring 11 in a row.

Unfortunately, the memo evidently did not reach the Giants, whom Browning met next on Sept. 21; after a strikeout and a flyout to start the game, a single by Will Clark cut the streak off at 40.