Upon his return, he pitched seven shutout innings against the Houston Astros. However, his next start was even more impressive. On July 7, 2008, Kuroda pitched seven perfect innings in a game against the Atlanta Braves before allowing a double to Mark Teixeira to lead off the eighth inning. Despite the double, he shutout the Braves on one hit with no walks over nine innings, Teixeira was the only baserunner Kuroda would allow in a 91-pitch complete game one-hit shutout. He became the first Dodger to throw a one-hitter since Derek Lowe threw one against the Chicago Cubs on August 31, 2005. He became the first rookie pitcher since Orel Hershiser in 1984 to take a perfect game into the eighth inning.