CHICAGO — Right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers threw six perfect innings Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, retiring all 18 batters he faced.
The 27-year-old hurler recorded six strikeouts while throwing 72 total pitches, with 51 finding the strike zone. Los Angeles held a commanding 5-0 advantage entering the seventh inning.
Chicago’s closest opportunity for a base hit came from Chase Meidroth, who lined a ball that curved just outside the foul line before going down swinging to end the fifth inning.
Play was briefly halted before the sixth inning’s bottom half as the grounds crew made repairs to the mound area surrounding the pitcher’s rubber. When action continued, Yamamoto showed no effects from the interruption, fanning Jacob Gonzalez on a full-count cutter before retiring Tristan Peters on a ground ball to first base and getting Edgar Quero to foul out to left field.
Yamamoto is currently in his third campaign with the Los Angeles franchise. He earned World Series MVP honors last season while helping the Dodgers capture their second straight championship title.
The performance continues an impressive run for Yamamoto as the NL West-leading team’s ace. Over his four previous outings before Saturday’s game, he posted a 3-1 record alongside an outstanding 0.99 ERA.
