Sep 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Ben Rortvedt (47) enters the dugout to play the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Former Yankees Catcher Nearly Catches Two No-Hitters

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Michael Rosenstein | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 9:00 AM ET

If it wasn't for bad luck, former New York Yankees catcher Ben Rortvedt wouldn't have any luck at all. Now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the backstop almost called not one but TWO no-hitters with a three-day span.

The most recent one came Monday when the Dodgers beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-1. Tyler Glasnow got the ball rolling for Los Angeles, throwing seven no-hit innings while striking out 11. Reliever Blake Treinen kept the Rockies off the board in the eighth inning but closer Tanner Scott came in for the ninth inning and gave up a lead-off double to Ryan Ritter.

Two days before that, Yoshinobu Yamamoto came within one out of throwing MLB's first no-hitter of the season. But Jackson Holliday homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to ignite a rally by the Baltimore Orioles, who stunned the Dodgers, 4-3.

Rortvedt was behind the plate both Saturday and Monday after getting called up from Triple-A last week.

"The guys are doing it all," Rortvedt said, according to the Associated Press. "They're making it look easy."

Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Monday was the first time Rortvedt caught Glasnow, and they seemed out of sync early, with the right-hander needing 58 pitches to get out of the first inning, according to MLB.com's Sonja Chen. Glasnow left the game after throwing 105 pitches, one off his season high.

The 27-year-old Rortvedt has played just five games for the Dodgers, finding his way into the lineup after last week's injuries to Will Smith and Dalton Rushing. He had been hitting .228 in 17 games with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only six players since 1900 have caught a no-hitter within their first five games with a team. Rortvedt would've make it a lucky seven.

"(Monday) was a lot of fun," Rortvedt said, per Chen. "I've been on the opposing side facing Glasnow once, maybe twice. When he's filling up the zone with four pitches, it's not a fun day. He did that today."

Rortvedt made his MLB debut in 2021 with the Minnesota Twins, who later traded him to the Yankees ahead of the 2022 season in the deal which also brought third baseman Josh Donaldson and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Bronx while sending catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Gio Urshela to Minneapolis.

The backstop played in 32 games for the Yankees in 2023, hitting .118 with two home runs while backing up Kyle Higashioka and former All-Star Jose Trevino. New York sent Rortvedt to the Tampa Bay Rays before the 2024 season in a three-way trade with the Marlins. Miami flipped him to the Dodgers earlier this year ahead of the July 31 MLB trade deadline.

Over parts for four big-league seasons, Rortvedt is hitting .187 in 214 games.

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