The White Sox were dominated by Yoshinobu Yamamoto and were nearly victims of a perfect game on Saturday, but Tristan Peters' late home run changed the mood entirely and gave Chicago some momentum heading into Sunday's rubber match against the Dodgers.
Some days when you show up to the ballpark, it's simply not your day. And that was the case for the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, as the Los Angeles Dodgers evened the series with a 7-1 victory.
Shohei Ohtani put the White Sox behind just one batter into the game, launching his 14th home run of the season to lead things off against Sean Burke. Max Muncy followed with a two-run shot of his own in the first inning, and the White Sox were immediately behind, staring at a 3-0 deficit.
That right there wasn't even the final nail in the coffin. We've seen the White Sox come back from larger deficits already this season, and 17 of the club's 37 victories in 2026 have come in comeback fashion.
The Dodgers scoring early runs is one thing, but with how Yoshinobu Yamamoto looked on the mound, it was pretty clear the White Sox had their work cut out for them.
Yamamoto dominated White Sox hitters all afternoon. He retired the first 23 batters he faced, taking a perfect game into the bottom of the eighth inning and looking to become just the second pitcher in history to throw a perfect game against the White Sox, joining Addie Joss of the 1908 Cleveland Naps.
An unbiased bystander may have been rooting for history, but I think most White Sox fans were waiting all afternoon for the Sox to break things up. Given how well this team has been playing recently and all the momentum they currently have, the last thing they needed was becoming a national highlight for going 27 up and 27 down.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts made sure that didn't happen when he booted a ground ball off the bat of Chase Meidroth in the bottom of the eighth. Instead of sending Yamamoto to the ninth inning with his perfect game intact, Betts' error gave the White Sox their first baserunner of the game and spoiled the moment.
Still, Yamamoto went into the ninth inning with a no-hitter. And breaking up a perfect game because of a fielding error doesn't exactly feel satisfying for the offensive team.
Then in the bottom of the ninth, though, White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters delivered the most meaningful meaningless home run.
Peters got a 96.6 mph fastball from Yamamoto and punished it, sending a 108.5 mph rocket into the right-field seats. It just hooked fair around the foul pole, giving the White Sox their first hit and first run of the ballgame. And oddly, it took a massive weight off Chicago's shoulders. You could feel it in the ballpark, and you could feel it watching the game on TV.
"In the dugout, it kind of feels like we won that game after that," said White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas afterward. "We really needed it. We were ready for that hit."
At the end of the day, it only goes down in the books as one loss, and the White Sox avoided history in the process. They also managed to avoid the shutout.
Hopefully, watching Tristan Peters put a great swing on the ball helps free the White Sox up and gives them some momentum going into Sunday's rubber match. They might have been dominated on Saturday afternoon, but all it takes is a win on Sunday to come away with a series victory.
The White Sox will also be looking to get back into first place in the AL Central after falling a half-game behind the Cleveland Guardians with Saturday's loss.
