Astros throw two immaculate innings against same three Rangers batters; could Texas have avoided second one?

Kevin Skiver

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Astros throw two immaculate innings against same three Rangers batters; could Texas have avoided second one? image

The Astros made MLB history Wednesday against a grouping of unfortunate Rangers batters. Houston pitchers twice compiled immaculate innings (nine pitches, three strikeouts, three outs); Luis Garcia and Phil Maton each sat down Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran and Brad Miller in succession.

It's the first time in MLB history that two immaculate innings have been thrown on the same date, let alone in the same game by the same team against the same batters.

A side-by-side look at the two innings, courtesy of MLB.

It's fascinating synchronicity that this happened to the three Rangers hitters twice in a single game. How they've performed so far this season.

Name HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG
Nathaniel Lowe 8 24 14 55 .281 .326 .443
Ezequiel Duran 2 5 1 11 .325 .341 .525
Brad Miller 7 25 10 36 .228 .283 .402

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When was the last immaculate inning?

There was already one immaculate inning in 2022, by the Yankees' Nestor Cortes vs. the Orioles on April 17. Robinson Chirinos, Chris Owings and Kevin Gutiérrez were on the receiving end.

Could the Rangers have avoided a second immaculate inning?

MLB teams do certain things to avoid making pitchers' lives too easy. If a pitcher gets two outs on two pitches, the third batter almost always takes the first pitch. Batters often need a green light to swing on a 3-0 count. But an immaculate inning is a different beast.

Batters can't just take a pitch to avoid it, they can just shrink their strike zone and avoid borderline pitches. Even then, there are no guarantees.

Lowe is perhaps the guiltiest party in Maton's frame. He swung at two pitches that were high and inside. The third strike especially was well high and tight. Duran took a pitch off the plate for his third strike, so his K wasn't entirely on him. Miller also swung at two high fastballs out of the zone. The Rangers hitters' aggressive approach backfired.

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How many immaculate innings have there been in MLB history?

The Astros tossed the 105th and 106th known immaculate innings in MLB history, which makes the immaculate inning about two-thirds as rare as the no-hitter, which has happened 316 times. It's difficult for pitchers to live in the strike zone in that way, but Garcia and Maton did it to perfection.

The Astros went on to win the game 9-2 and win the series. They're now 39-24 on the season and lead the AL West. Houston's bullpen leads MLB with a 2.70 ERA.

Kevin Skiver

Kevin Skiver Photo

Kevin Skiver has been a content producer at Sporting News since 2021. He previously worked at CBS Sports as a trending topics writer, and now writes various pieces on MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and college sports. He enjoys hiking and eating, not necessarily in that order.