[Affecting A Maryland Accent] "Whoa! Go O's!" | Defector

"With two outs in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday night, the Dodgers leading the Orioles 3-0, all I was thinking about was Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The L.A. ace looked poised to wrap a no-hitter at Camden Yards, and the entire crowd was on its feet, either outright cheering for the road team or at least feeling awed by the performance happening in front of them."

"It's not always easy to appreciate a great pitcher when you're sitting deep in the outfield corner. On TV, you get the perfect angle. You see the movement of the ball, its placement relative to the strike zone, and a constant stream of slow-mo replays. At the stadium, it's easy to feel the power of a home run or admire the athleticism of a diving grab, but the subtlety of pitching is lost in the distance."

"I couldn't tell you exactly how Yamamoto was getting the Orioles out nearly every time, only confronting one over the minimum and pitching perfectly from the fourth inning on. But if you see the same thing happen over and over, you absorb the point. The unrelenting parade of Baltimore futility-the sheer lack of guys reaching base-turned out to be just as emphatic as an up-close look at Yamamoto's 10 strikeouts would have been."

Yoshinobu Yamamoto carried a no-hit bid deep into the ninth inning while the Dodgers led the Orioles 3-0. The outing included ten strikeouts and nearly flawless pitching from the fourth inning on, facing only one batter over the minimum. The stadium reaction varied from cheering to awed silence as each Oriole returned to the dugout, emphasizing the cumulative dominance more than any single highlight. Television offers clearer angles and replay, but repeated failures to reach base made the performance legible even from the stands. A fan kept score at the ballpark and maintained hope of witnessing a no-hitter despite none occurring in MLB in 2025.

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