Yamamoto comes THIS close to perfection -- then a no-no -- vs. White Sox

CHICAGO -- A booted grounder ended his run at perfection in the eighth inning, and a long ball in the ninth was the only hit on his final line. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was nearly perfect and nearly unhittable, but he ultimately fell short of both feats.

Yamamoto was four outs away from a perfect game when a Mookie Betts fielding error allowed the first White Sox baserunner to reach. He was three outs away from a no-hitter when he surrendered a home run to Tristan Peters to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning.

It was still pure domination: Yamamoto struck out seven and allowed just two baserunners across 8 1/3 innings in Saturday's 7-1 win at Rate Field. But he came away feeling a little unfulfilled.

“I do feel a little bit regrettable, because I went into the ninth inning and I was not able to achieve a no-hitter," Yamamoto said through interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. "I didn’t complete the ninth inning, the no-hitter. But how I was pitching, I was pretty satisfied.”

Yamamoto came close to making some additional history in his dominant start on the South Side. His gem came after a start against the Angels where he set down his final 22 batters in order. He extended the streak to 45 consecutive batters retired, tying Mark Buehrle (2009) for the second-longest in MLB history behind Yusmeiro Petit's 46 (2014), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The perfect-game bid came to an end with two outs in the eighth inning, when Yamamoto got Chase Meidroth to ground a ball to the left side of the infield. Betts booted the ball at shortstop, and although second baseman Santiago Espinal found himself in position to attempt a second-chance play, Meidroth became the first White Sox hitter to reach base against Yamamoto.

"Just a routine ground ball that I missed," Betts said. "Not making any excuses."

After Peters broke up the no-hit bid with his ninth-inning long ball, Yamamoto got one final batter: No. 9 hitter Edgar Quero, who flied out to center fielder Andy Pages. That ended Yamamoto's gem after a season-high 109 pitches.

As Yamamoto walked off the mound, fans wearing White Sox and Dodgers jerseys alike rose to their feet in acknowledgement of his performance. His teammates showed him some appreciation of their own once he was out of the game. It was a special performance, if not what they had all been hoping for.

Yamamoto threw two no-hitters in Nippon Professional Baseball, but he is still looking for his first in the Majors. He came close last September in Baltimore, when he lost a no-hit bid after 8 2/3 innings.

"Sometimes as soon as he gets through the first inning, we feel pretty good about it," pitching coach Mark Prior said. "It was another special night for him."

Many around the Dodgers believe it's only a matter of time before Yamamoto breaks through for his first Major League no-hitter. He has the deep pitch mix to keep hitters off-balance. His command is surgical when he's throwing the ball well. Whether he's following his game plan or adapting to the situation at hand, he's convicted in what he's doing on the mound.

"It’s not just the amount of pitches. It’s the ability to throw them in four different quadrants and have pretty good execution and efficiency with it," Prior said. "That’s what makes him special. It’s not that he’s trying things. He knows the right situations where he can get away with things if he does miss his spots. But he’s very calculated on when he does it."

Said Peters: "I'd have to say he's probably [got] the best command of the zone that I've ever faced. His stuff is good, but just the way he commands the zone, his presence is really good."

Saturday afternoon evoked memories of the lost no-hitter in Baltimore, which was more painful because the Dodgers went on to lose. Still, some L.A. players were frustrated by the role they played in Saturday's bid ending: Betts for not fielding the ball cleanly in the eighth, and catcher Dalton Rushing for not being able to get Yamamoto through the ninth.

While he would have liked to finish the job in both Baltimore and Chicago, Yamamoto is not one to let disappointment linger. That's a big reason why he has performed so well on the biggest stages -- and why the Dodgers are confident that one day he'll get his no-hitter.

"I think he understands that he went out there, he did his job and he gave us more than a chance to win this game today," Rushing said. "And in his eyes, that's all he has to do every single time. That's why, obviously, he is who he is, and everyone respects a guy like that a lot."