The Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers, 9-2, on Wednesday, with an impressive offensive showing.
There were two special pitching performances, however, that stood out above the rest.
Houston starter Luis Garcia threw an immaculate inning in the second frame, striking out Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran, and Brad Miller on three pitches each.
He only used the minimum nine pitches to retire the side, a feat that is harder than it sounds: it requires some serious control and trust in the pitcher’s repertoire.
But that wasn’t all for Astros’ pitchers.
Later in the same game, reliever Phil Maton earned the second immaculate inning of the day…against the same three hitters!
An Incredible Coincidence
Lowe, Duran, and Miller once again succumbed against the dominance of an Astros pitcher, this time Maton.
“For the first time in history a team threw two immaculate innings in the same game! You see something new every day at the ballpark,” MLB Europe tweeted.
For the first time in history a team threw two immaculate innings in the same game! 😱
You see something new every day at the ballpark #MLB #LevelUp #MLBEurope pic.twitter.com/VEg14V5O7H
— MLB Europe (@MLBEurope) June 16, 2022
With Maton’s, there have been 105 immaculate innings in the history of MLB, at least that we know of.
You may see one every once in a while, but it could be a long time before we see two of them in the same game and against the same exact hitters.
Garcia and Maton are having good seasons for the Astros.
The reliever has a 3.33 ERA, while Garcia is currently at 3.41.
They remain important parts of the Astros’ solid pitching staff, one that has helped the team remain in first place of the AL West division with a 9.5-game lead.
The season is long, but Houston can rest easy knowing their pitching staff is not only rock-solid, but also deep.
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