Houston Astros enter MLB record books with two immaculate innings in same game
The Houston Astros rode into the record books on Wednesday, June 15, when they clinched the honor of being the first team in the history of Major League Baseball to toss two immaculate innings in the same game. Also going into the record books are the two Astros pitchers Luis Garcia and Phil Maton who each hurled 1-2-3 innings, with three strikeouts on nine pitches. “They were the 107th and 108th immaculate innings ever thrown in MLB,” according to Yahoo! Sports.
In baseball, an immaculate inning is one of the rarer achievements that a player can accomplish: one inning, nine strikes, three strikeouts. No team in MLB has accomplished this feat more than nine times, and the Houston Astros tied that current team record with not one, but two immaculate innings in the same game. Wednesday’s game against the Texas Rangers was the first time in MLB history that the same team accomplished the feat twice in one game. ~ Sports Illustrated
Pitcher Luis Garcia started for the Astros on Wednesday. When he came to the mound in the game’s second inning, the Astros were already ahead with a score of 6-1 over the Rangers.
The second “Immaculate Inning” came courtesy of relief pitcher Phil Maton in the seventh inning when he went up against the same three Rangers’ batters: Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran and Brad Miller.
The finals score in yesterday’s game was Astros, 9, over Rangers, 2.
In more Astros’ news, the MLB announced yesterday that Houston claimed outfielder Dillon Thomas off of waivers from the Los Angeles Angels. Thomas has been optioned to Triple A Sugar Land. To make room for Thomas on the 40-man roster, the Astros transferred outfielder Jake Meyers to the 60-day IL.
Thomas, 29, a left-handed hitting outfielder, has spent most of his 2022 season with Triple A Salt Lake in the Angels organization, appearing in 48 games for the Bees, while hitting .295 (52×176) with 10 doubles, eight home runs, 39 RBI and an .887 OPS. He’s had one Major League stint so far this season, appearing in one game for the Angels. A native Houstonian, Thomas was born in the city and attended Westbury Christian School in Houston before being selected in the fourth round of the 2011 draft by the Rockies. Thomas has played in parts of 12 minor league seasons with the Rockies, Brewers, Athletics, Mariners and Angels organizations.
With yesterday’s moves, the Astros 40-man roster remains full.
For more on the Astros’ two immaculate innings in the same game yesterday, see the video accompanying this article.
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
