Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto was robbed of pitching the rare immaculate inning during Thursday night's game against San Diego by a home plate umpire who called a ball on what should have been strike three.
It happened in the top of the third inning with the Padres leading 1-0. After striking out Padres batters Bryce Johnson and Martin Maldonado on three pitches each, Yamamoto had an 0-2 count on Fernando Tatis Jr, putting him one pitch away from striking out the side on the minimum nine pitches for an immaculate inning.
Yamamoto's third pitch to Fernando Tatis Jr. was a 95 mph curveball down the middle that was just above the belt. Based on the camera angle, the pitch appeared to be good enough for strike three. However, home plate umpire Marvin Hudson inexplicably called the pitch a ball, leaving Dodgers broadcasters shocked and dismayed.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto just had an immaculate inning stolen from him pic.twitter.com/FiMFpWLOGX
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 20, 2025
This is the second time in less than a week that Hudson's strike zone has been called into question. Someone in the MLB Umpire Operations department needs to look into this.
Yamamoto did managed to strike out Tatis on 5 pitches, so he still struck out the side, which is no small feat in the major leagues. It also means the botched call by Hudson had no impact on the game overall, which is a good thing. However, it is a shame that balls and strikes can be so subjective. Maybe this will all be forgotten in a few years when the "robots" call balls and strikes in MLB, but that still has to be signed off.
Yamamoto pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up 3 runs on seven hits while striking out five. Unfortunately, he did not get enough run support to help him out, so he took the loss as the Padres won the game 5-3.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
