Global InformationList of Major League Baseball pitchers who have thrown an immaculate inning information
An immaculate inning occurs in baseball when a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning using the minimum possible number of pitches: nine.[1] This has happened 114 times in Major League history and has been accomplished by 104 pitchers (79 right-handed and 25 left-handed).
Major League Baseball's first immaculate inning was accomplished by John Clarkson of the Boston Beaneaters against the Philadelphia Quakers on June 4, 1889;[2] and the most recent by Johan Oviedo of the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 24, 2023. Use of the term "immaculate inning" first appeared in newspaper reporting after 2000.[3]
Six pitchers have accomplished the feat more than once, including Hall-of-Famers Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax, and Nolan Ryan, and active pitchers Chris Sale, Max Scherzer, and Kevin Gausman. Koufax, Sale, and Scherzer are the only pitchers to achieve an immaculate inning three times. Koufax accomplished his first immaculate inning while throwing his first no-hitter, becoming the only player to do both in a single game.[4][5][6][7]
Five pitchers – Bob Gibson, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, Ryan, and Scherzer – are also members of the 3,000-strikeout club.[8] Sloppy Thurston, Ryan, Wade Miley, Thomas Pannone, Reid Detmers, and Hayden Wesneski are the only rookies to have achieved the feat.[9][10][11][12] Ryan and Gausman have struck out three batters on nine pitches in both the American League and National League.[13]
Danny Jackson is the sole player to pitch an immaculate inning in the World Series:[14] the seventh inning of Game 5 of the 1985 World Series; it is also the only immaculate inning thrown in a postseason game. Jackson pitched a complete game, winning 6–1 and staving off elimination for the Kansas City Royals, who eventually won the series in seven games.
While an immaculate inning typically occurs with the bases empty, a nine-pitch, three-strikeout performance can also be accomplished by a relief pitcher who enters the game with one or more runners on base. On May 8, 2014, Brad Boxberger of the Tampa Bay Rays entered a game against the Baltimore Orioles with the bases loaded and proceeded to strike out the side with nine pitches.[15] No player has ever struck out four batters on 12 pitches in an inning, with one of those batters reaching base on an uncaught third strike.
No pitcher has thrown more than one immaculate inning in a game. Jesús Sánchez of the Florida Marlins came within one pitch of that feat on September 13, 1998. Facing the Atlanta Braves, Sánchez struck out the side in the bottom of the second inning on 10 pitches and threw an immaculate inning in the bottom of the third inning:[16] six consecutive strikeouts on 19 pitches.[16] Just one game has seen two pitchers throw immaculate innings: on June 15, 2022, Phil Maton and Luis Garcia of the Houston Astros struck out the same three Texas Rangers batters in the second and seventh innings respectively.[17]
- ^ "Immaculate Innings". Baseball Almanac.
- ^ "Excelsior". The Boston Globe. June 5, 1889. p. 5. Retrieved April 27, 2013. (subscription required)
- ^ Rodriguez, Juan C. (June 19, 2008). "Marlins Notebook: Rare feat". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 3C. Retrieved August 28, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Kovacevic, Dejan (September 5, 2009). "Ohlendorf fans 11, including immaculate inning, but Pirates lose". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- ^ Topkin, Marc (August 25, 2010). "Soriano's latest feat is flawless". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 2010-08-28. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- ^ Matz, Eddie (June 20, 2018). "Max Scherzer becomes fifth ever with two career immaculate innings". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ Collier, Jamal (June 5, 2018). "Scherzer throws 2nd career immaculate inning". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
- ^ "Sloppy Thurston Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- ^ "Nolan Ryan Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ "Wade Miley Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- ^ "Thomas Pannone Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
- ^ "Ryan, Nolan". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WSwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mooney, Roger (May 10, 2014). "Notebook: Mr. K". The Tampa Tribune. p. 31. Retrieved August 28, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
SanchezBoxwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Houston Astros' Luis Garcia, Phil Maton first in recorded history to throw immaculate innings in one game". ESPN.com. June 15, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.