What is an immaculate inning in baseball? Michael Kopech accomplishes rare feat vs. Twins

Everybody wants to talk about a perfect game or a no-hitter. The forgotten sibling of the other two baseball feats is none other than the immaculate inning, a lesser talked about yet still-prestigious pitching achievement seen every so often in modern-day baseball.

There are a century's worth of immaculate games that tell the story of the MLB, including some of the league's biggest names. Most pitchers won't have one to their name, which makes throwing one even more prestigious.

Who pitched the most recent immaculate inning and what does it take to notch one? Read more below.

MORE: When was the last perfect game in MLB?

What is an immaculate inning in baseball?

Nine pitches, nine strikes, and three strikeouts. That's what makes an immaculate inning. Foul balls count toward the immaculate inning, but outs put in play do not.

Michael Kopech of the Chicago White Sox is the latest MLB player to throw an immaculate inning on July 10 against the Minnesota Twins. He's the first pitcher in over a century to do so for the franchise after Sloppy Thurston did it in August of 1923. 

9 pitches. 9 strikes. Ballgame.

Michael Kopech throws the first immaculate inning of the season!

(MLB x @loanDepot) pic.twitter.com/VH1RgXpl1D

— MLB (@MLB) July 10, 2024

There have already been 16 immaculate innings in the 2020s, with them becoming more and more common. There were 37 over the 2010s, more than double any other decade.

How rare is the immaculate inning?

There have been 115 immaculate innings in MLB history and just seven pitchers have thrown one multiple times. Basically, it's occurred more than the perfect game but far fewer times than a no-hitter, so it's a relatively rare feat, all things considered.

Most immaculate innings in a game

There has never been a pitcher who threw multiple immaculate innings in the same game. In 1998, the Marlins' Jesus Sanchez came close when he got out three Braves on 10 pitches in the second inning before throwing an immaculate inning in the third. 

Two pitchers threw an immaculate inning in the same game for the Astros against the Rangers Luis Garcia and Phil Maton did so on June 15, 2022m with the same trio of Rangers hitters. 

Who has thrown the most immaculate innings?

There are only seven pitchers who have thrown multiple immaculate innings, and three have done it three times. Sandy Koufax, Max Scherzer, and Chris Sale all have a trio of immaculate innings under their belts, while Lefty Grove, Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and Kevin Gausman have done it twice.

List of immaculate innings in MLB

Here's a look at every immaculate inning in MLB history to date:

Kevin Skiver contributed to this article