The Los Angeles Dodgers had a wild weekend in Baltimore, one that baseball fans will probably be talking about for years.
On Saturday night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto came one out away from history.
He had the Orioles completely shut down for 8 innings, striking out 10 batters and walking just two.
The crowd at Camden Yards was on edge, waiting to see if Yamamoto would pull off one of his most incredible pitching performances ever for the Dodgers.
But with two outs in the ninth, Jackson Holliday barely snuck a home run over the right-field wall. He broke up the no-hitter and crushed the Dodgers’ momentum.
Ninth-Inning Collapse and Walk-Off Heartbreak
It wasn’t just the homer that hurt. What made things worse was that the Orioles didn’t stop there. Once Yamamoto came out, the Dodgers’ bullpen fell apart. Blake Treinen came in and immediately got into trouble, walking batters and giving up a run on a bases-loaded free pass. Tanner Scott couldn’t stop the bleeding either, and eventually Emmanuel Rivera walked it off for Baltimore, giving them a stunning 4–3 win. From almost no-hit glory to a walk-off loss in just a few minutes, it was like watching a nightmare unfold in real time.
The crazy thing is how rare this was. According to MLB stats, Yamamoto became the first Dodgers pitcher since 1923 to lose a no-hitter with one out to go. Even more rare, no pitcher in MLB history had ever lost a no-hitter on a two-out home run in the ninth inning, and then had his team go on to lose the game.
Impact on the Standings and Playoff Race
The loss was a huge blow for the Dodgers, not only emotionally but also in the standings. The Padres gained ground in the NL West, shortening L.A.’s division lead to just one game.
Then, on Sunday, the Dodgers looked to bounce back. Shohei Ohtani crushed two home runs, his 47th & 48th of the season, and Mookie Betts added one of his own. With the offense finally showing up again, Los Angeles grabbed a 5–2 win to avoid the sweep. Ohtani’s power display reminded everyone why he’s one of the most feared hitters in the game, and it gave Dodgers fans at least a little bit of hope heading into the next series.
A Weekend of Highs and Lows for Los Angeles
Still, this weekend was a rollercoaster that showed both the brilliance and the flaws of this Dodgers team. Yamamoto’s performance proved he can dominate the best lineups in the MLB, but the bullpen collapse was a reminder that nothing is guaranteed until the final out. The Dodgers have the talent to make a deep playoff run, but games like Saturday show how quickly things can fall apart if one or two things go wrong.
As the regular season winds down, the Dodgers will need to bounce back from this quickly. They’ve now lost five of their last six games, and the pressure is officially on. With the Padres right behind them, every game matters. Whether this team uses Saturday’s heartbreak as motivation or lets it drag them down could define the rest of their season.
For now, Dodgers fans are left with a mix of pride and frustration.
Yamamoto nearly made history, Ohtani looked unstoppable, but the team still appears to have more questions than answers.
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