From the verge of history, to the depths of horror.

The kind of unimaginable nightmare even these slumping Dodgers could have never possibly fathomed.

One minute, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was on the precipice of a no-hitter, needing just one more out to put his name in the history books. The next, orange Baltimore Orioles jerseys were sprinting around the bases; a night destined for a storybook ending, instead going so wrong, so fast.

“It’s hard to recount a game like this, where you feel like there’s so many things where you can get a little bit of momentum, build off a great outing by Yoshinobu, and take that into tomorrow,” manager Dave Roberts said.

“And then, obviously, it completely flipped.”

Indeed, entering the ninth inning at Camden Yards on Saturday night, the outcome of the game never appeared to be in doubt.

The Dodgers were leading by three runs. The last-place Orioles had hardly threatened all evening. And the only real question was whether Yamamoto would complete the 24th no-hitter in the franchise’s illustrious history.

Read more:Despite emergency help from Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers lose again: 'Truly have no answers'

He couldn’t, giving up a wall-scrapping home run to Jackson Holliday.

Still, the somber mood around the team — which had lost four straight games, six out of seven and was nine games under .500 going back to July 4 — had finally seemed like it was starting to lift.

At that point, all the Dodgers needed was simple.

“One flippin’ out,” as reliever Blake Treinen bluntly put it.

The out, however, would never come. The victory, somehow, wouldn’t be sealed. In one of the most stunning finishes you could ever script, the Dodgers collapsed in a sequence almost impossible to comprehend.

They didn’t just lose 4-3 to the Orioles.

They sent their already spiraling season to a new, and even more painful, nadir.

"Obviously it's really hard to swallow,” Yamamoto said through an interpreter, after striking out 10 batters, walking only two and giving up just the one, fateful hit. “But the only thing we can do is, we've got to get together, put things together, and overcome it."

Added Roberts: “It’s certainly a wasted opportunity [and] performance, from what Yoshinobu did.”

The implosion started with a pitching change, as Roberts went to remove Yamamoto after a dazzling and dominant 8⅔ innings.

The right-hander had been in cruise control, with his fastball playing up and his command (outside of two third-inning walks that were erased by a double play) spot on. Even the home run to Holliday came on a decent pitch, an inside cutter that the former top prospect lifted just deep enough over a short wall in right center — where Andy Pages curiously pulled up instead of attempting to rob it.

“I just felt he deserved the chance to get a no-hitter,” Roberts said. “I felt that the guys were feeling it for him, were pulling for him. And I wanted it bad for him.”

But, with both the no-no and shutout dashed, and Yamamoto’s pitch count up to 112, Roberts wanted to extend him no further. Thus, as Yamamoto left to a chorus of cheers, Treinen came trotting out of the bullpen.

“I felt that we pushed him far enough,” Roberts added. “We gotta be able to get one out.”

Treinen came close to getting it against his first batter, pumping two quick strikes past rookie outfielder Jeremiah Jackson. But then Jackson battled back, working the count full. And when Treinen left a sinker over the plate, Jackson belted it to left for a double.

One on. No panic. Still one out to get.

Two batters later, the alarm bells started ringing. With two strikes against Gunnar Henderson, Treinen yanked a sweeper that hit him. Then, in the next at-bat, a wild pitch advanced the two tying runners into scoring position.

Two on. Concern level rising. But still one out to get.

“He’s got swing-and-miss stuff, but it was hard to find the zone,” said catcher Ben Rortvedt, a journeyman deadline acquisition who had only been called up from the minor leagues on Thursday, and was only behind the plate because of injuries to Will Smith and Dalton Rushing.

“It’s hard to come in in those spots. I’m sure the bullpen was probably tuned in on every pitch and was pushing for him to go the full way.”

However, Treinen countered, “that’s not an excuse for how I performed.”

After the wild pitch, Treinen walked Ryan Mountcastle to load the bases. A mound visit at that point failed to settle him down, with another walk to Colton Cowser forcing in one run and prompting Roberts to finally make another move to the bullpen.

“Blake Treinen has been in some of the toughest spots that any relief pitcher can imagine,” Roberts said, in explaining why he gave the right-hander as much leash as he did. “I have hard time believing that any spot or moment is too big for him.”

The same did not apply to the Dodgers’ new pitcher, embattled closer Tanner Scott. The previous night, he’d given up a walk-off homer to clinch what felt like another low point of the season. Now, he faced Orioles third baseman Emmanuel Rivera with the crowd going wild.

Bases loaded. Lead down to 3-2. But, still, just one out to get.

Scott missed low with a first-pitch fastball. He evened the count with another heater down the middle. The 1-and-1 offering was well-placed, a 97.4 mph four-seamer well below the bottom of the zone. But Rivera got his bat to it, sending a line drive into center for a two-run, walk-off single.

“Put somebody else in a position that they shouldn’t be in,” Treinen said. “I have to get one flippin’ out, and I didn’t do it.”

Indeed, it was all supposed to go so different.

Before the game, Roberts had gathered his scuffling clubhouse and implored them to loosen up and not try to be perfect. He saw so many of signs of it in the first eight innings, from not only Yamamoto but a lineup that produced 10 hits and manufactured runs in three different innings.

It was the first time on this trip the Dodgers (78-64) — who now lead the National League West by just one game over the San Diego Padres, after they ended a five-game losing streak with a win on Saturday in Colorado — had held a lead at any point of a contest.

It was the first time in weeks they seemed to play with energy, life and some sustainable confidence.

One more out, and it could’ve been a turning point in the season.

“There’s really no words,” Treinen said. “You’re paid to be a professional and at least throw strikes, and I didn’t do that. Cost one of the better outings I’ve ever seen in my career with Yama. He deserves better than that. Offense deserves better than that. Just really sucks to be on that end of it. ... That’s a pretty low point for me."

And, of course, for the team, as well; the game ending so shockingly, so disastrously, Roberts couldn’t even describe his sinking club as snake-bitten, just continuing to squander opportunities to win games they should.

“When you walk two guys and you can’t put guys away, it’s hard to say you’re snake bit,” Roberts said. “You make your own breaks. And [Treinen] wasn’t good tonight. Very uncharacteristic, but it happened.

“We gotta be able to get one out. We just got to do it.”

Read more:Davey Johnson, former Dodgers manager who also guided Mets to title, dies at 82

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Jonah Tong never endured any trouble with the long ball during his rapid rise through the minor leagues. Before the Mets promoted the budding right-hander early last week, he'd allowed just a pair of home runs across 113.2 innings between the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

The trend of Tong keeping balls from flying over the outfield walls continued in his first big league start just seven days ago, but that groove didn't survive his second outing. He was susceptible to the homer on Saturday night, as he allowed a season-high three in the Mets' 6-3 road loss to the Reds.

While the three mistake pitches inflicted enough damage, Tong looked unfazed. He completed six innings for the first time in the majors, striking out six (96 total pitches) with heavy use of his fastball. But he also walked four -- that mark was zero in his Aug. 29 debut against the Marlins.

"There were some situations where I didn't execute," Tong said after the game. "I didn't really have my off-speed or the aim and sort of found it late, but I tried to compete the best I could. They're good hitters, they're going to be able to hit pitches... 

"I've been in these situations before. I've had outings like this. It's another day... I just need to do a better job of mixing off-speed for strikes and being unpredictable... I think it's just execution on my end."

The first of three homers allowed by Tong occurred in the second inning, and unfortuantely with two outs. Ahead in the count 0-1 with a runner on first, he threw an upper-middle fastball to Reds rookie Sal Stewart that was smacked to dead center for a two-run blast.

Tong then served up a pair of leadoff homers -- one to Matt McLain in the third and one to Austin Hays in the fourth -- that provided the Reds with a little more breathing room. Overall, the 22-year-old showed composure and gave up only three hits. They just happened to be the worst kind.

In his scoreless nine-pitch first inning, Tong attacked with his upper-90s four-seamer, throwing it eight times as a clear message. But it didn't take long for the Reds to prove they could sit back on the heat and make solid contact. All three homers came on the fastball.

"I think there's a lot of positives from this outing," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Tong. "He had a hard time landing the fastball and changeup early on, but settled in nicely. The curveball was better as the game went on. And for him to give us six innings, there's a lot of positive.

"He made some adjustments with the pitch mix, but they did a good job and got him with the fastball at the top of the zone, which makes him who he is... They had a good approach... He gets away with those pitches at the minor league level."

Call it a valuable learning moment for the highly-touted rookie, whose brief time logged with the Mets already matches his entire Triple-A experience -- a whopping two starts. Tong is lined up to make his third MLB appearance next Friday, in a home meeting with the Rangers. 

And if the game wasn't already circled on fans' calendars, the opposing pitcher will likely be veteran Jacob deGrom, slated to make his first start at Citi Field since Sept. 2022.

The Mets lost on Saturday night against the Cincinnati Reds, 6-3, to even up the series. They'll go for the series win in Sunday's rubber game.

Here are the takeaways...

-Jonah Tong was on the mound making his second career start, and after impressing in five innings at Citi Field in his debut, the young right-hander had a little more trouble in his first road start.

Pitching at hitter's haven Great American Ballpark, Tong surrendered three home runs -- highly unusual for the 22-year-old, who was exceptional at keeping the ball in the yard and allowed just two home runs in the minors this season.

The first of the three home runs did the most damage and came in the second inning. After retiring the side in order on six pitches in the opening frame and getting the first two outs in the second, Tong issued a walk to Spencer Steer before fellow rookie Sal Stewart clubbed his first major league home run to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead. Both the walk and home run were the first allowed by Tong in his brief big league career.

Matt McLain and Austin Hays then each tagged Tong for solo shots leading off the third and fourth innings. 

-But Tong settled down from there and didn't allow another hit for the rest of his outing, although he did walk two more to give him four on the night as he battled with his command. Nevertheless, the right-hander still showed off his nasty stuff and struck out six batters through six innings. 

-He also showed some passion and moxie walking back to the dugout after the fifth inning and demonstratively conveyed to manager Carlos Mendoza that he wasn't ready to exit the game. At just 82 pitches through five, Mendoza sent Tong back out and the youngster rewarded his manager with a 1-2-3 inning that included striking out the final batter he faced.

Overall, Tong's final line: 6 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, 3 HR on 96 pitches (57 strikes). Despite the gutsy performance, his ERA rose to 4.09.

-Offensively, the Mets had trouble against Reds starter Brady Singer, who allowed one run over six innings. However, the biggest hurdle came on the bases, specifically with Francisco Lindor. 

After reaching base in his first three plate appearances on a single, walk and a double to extend his on-base streak to a career-high 10 consecutive plate appearances, Lindor was erased twice after getting caught trying to steal. The first caught stealing came after he left first base too early, which allowed Singer to pick him off. The second was far more puzzling, as Lindor was caught trying to steal third base with one out and Juan Soto up and New York down 4-1. 

Otherwise, Lindor had a phenomenal night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk. A groundout in the seventh ended his consecutive on-base streak, but his one-out double in the ninth began a new one.

Soto also had a good night, finishing 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.

-The Mets scored their runs on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Nimmo in the third and a pinch-hit solo home run by Jared Young in the seventh. A third run came across to score in the ninth on a wild pitch.

-After entering and escaping trouble on Friday night, Ryne Stanek came into a clean inning in this one and struggled. He managed to get just one out and allowed two runs on three hits and a walk. His ERA now sits at 5.44.

Game MVP: Brady Singer

The right-hander managed to quiet a hot Mets offense and earned his 13th win of the season.

Highlights

First strikeout of the night for Jonah Tong! pic.twitter.com/MA05v1XPQa

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2025

A sac fly for Brandon Nimmo puts the Mets on the board

It's Nimmo's 80th RBI of the season pic.twitter.com/wcxgCJPJNc

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2025

Luis. Torrens. 🎯 pic.twitter.com/VeXGqXYWI6

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 6, 2025

"Good call, Keith!"

Jared Young drills a solo shot for his fourth homer of the season pic.twitter.com/5iB5RZTCpW

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2025

A wild pitch brings home Francisco Lindor pic.twitter.com/jYbiQKMveR

— SNY (@SNYtv) September 7, 2025

What's next

The Mets finish out their three-game series in Cincinnati on Sunday with a 1:40 p.m. start time on PIX11.

RHP Brandon Sproat makes his MLB debut while the Reds send out RHP Hunter Greene (5-4, 2.70 ERA).