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

Sarah Effress

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

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. 

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:

PitcherDateTeam
John ClarksonJune 4, 1889Boston Beaneaters
Rube WaddellJuly 1, 1902Philadelphia Athletics
Pat RaganOctober 5, 1914Brooklyn Dodgers
Joe OeschgerSeptember 8, 1921Boston Braves
Sloppy ThurstonAugust 22, 1923Chicago White Sox
Dazzy VanceSeptember 14, 1924Brooklyn Robins
Lefty GroveAugust 23, 1928Philadelphia Athletics
Lefty GroveSeptember 27, 1928Philadelphia Athletics
Billy HoeftSeptember 7, 1953Detroit Tigers
Robin RobertsApril 17, 1956Philadelphia Phillies
Jim BunningAugust 2, 1959Detroit Tigers
Sandy KoufaxJune 30, 1962Los Angeles Dodgers
Sandy KoufaxApril 19, 1963Los Angeles Dodgers
Tony CloningerJune 15, 1963Milwaukee Braves
Sandy KoufaxApril 18, 1964Los Angeles Dodgers
Bob BruceApril 19, 1964Houston Colt .45s
Al DowningAugust 11, 1967New York Yankees
Nolan RyanApril 19, 1968New York Mets
Bob GibsonMay 12, 1969St. Louis Cardinals
Bill WilsonJuly 6, 1971Philadelphia Phillies
John StrohmayerJuly 10, 1971Montreal Expos
Milt PappasSeptember 24, 1971Chicago Cubs
Nolan RyanJuly 9, 1972California Angels
Bruce SutterSeptember 8, 1977Chicago Cubs
Pedro BorbónJune 23, 1979Cincinnati Reds
Lynn McGlothenAugust 25, 1979Chicago Cubs
Joey McLaughlinSeptember 11, 1979Atlanta Braves
Ron GuidryAugust 7, 1984New York Yankees
Danny JacksonOctober 24, 1985Kansas City Royals
Jeff RobinsonSeptember 7, 1987Pittsburgh Pirates
Rob DibbleJune 4, 1989Cincinnati Reds
Jeff MontgomeryApril 29, 1990Kansas City Royals
Andy AshbyJune 15, 1991Philadelphia Phillies
David ConeAugust 30, 1991New York Mets
Pete HarnischSeptember 6, 1991Houston Astros
Trevor WilsonJune 7, 1992San Francisco Giants
Mel RojasMay 11, 1994Montreal Expos
Stan BelindaAugust 6, 1994Kansas City Royals
Todd WorrellAugust 13, 1995Los Angeles Dodgers
Mike MagnanteAugust 22, 1997Houston Astros
Doug JonesSeptember 23, 1997Milwaukee Brewers
Jimmy KeyApril 14, 1998Baltimore Orioles
Mike MussinaMay 9, 1998Baltimore Orioles
Orel HershiserJune 16, 1998San Francisco Giants
Randy JohnsonSeptember 2, 1998Houston Astros
Jesús SánchezSeptember 13, 1998Florida Marlins
Shane ReynoldsJuly 15, 1999Houston Astros
B. J. RyanSeptember 5, 1999Baltimore Orioles
Randy JohnsonAugust 23, 2001Arizona Diamondbacks
Jason IsringhausenApril 13, 2002St. Louis Cardinals
Byung-Hyun KimMay 11, 2002Arizona Diamondbacks
Pedro MartínezMay 18, 2002Boston Red Sox
Brian LawrenceJune 12, 2002San Diego Padres
Brandon BackeApril 15, 2004Houston Astros
Ben SheetsJune 13, 2004Milwaukee Brewers
LaTroy HawkinsSeptember 11, 2004Chicago Cubs
Rick HellingJune 20, 2006Milwaukee Brewers
Buddy CarlyleJuly 6, 2007Atlanta Braves
Rich HardenJune 8, 2008Oakland Athletics
Félix HernándezJune 17, 2008Seattle Mariners
A. J. BurnettJune 20, 2009New York Yankees
Ross OhlendorfSeptember 5, 2009Pittsburgh Pirates
Rafael SorianoAugust 23, 2010Tampa Bay Rays
Jordan ZimmermannMay 6, 2011Washington Nationals
Juan PérezJuly 8, 2011Philadelphia Phillies
Clay BuchholzAugust 16, 2012Boston Red Sox
Wade MileyOctober 1, 2012Arizona Diamondbacks
Iván NovaMay 29, 2013New York Yankees
Steve DelabarJuly 30, 2013Toronto Blue Jays
Brad BoxbergerMay 8, 2014Tampa Bay Rays
Cole HamelsMay 17, 2014Philadelphia Phillies
Justin MastersonJune 2, 2014Cleveland Guardians
Garrett RichardsJune 4, 2014Los Angeles Angels
Rex BrothersJune 14, 2014Colorado Rockies
Carlos ContrerasJuly 11, 2014Cincinnati Reds
Brandon McCarthySeptember 17, 2014New York Yankees
Mike FiersMay 7, 2015Milwaukee Brewers
Santiago CasillaMay 17, 2015San Francisco Giants
Juan NicasioJuly 4, 2016Pittsburgh Pirates
Drew StorenApril 18, 2017Cincinnati Reds
Craig KimbrelMay 11, 2017Boston Red Sox
Max ScherzerMay 14, 2017Washington Nationals
Kenley JansenMay 18, 2017Los Angeles Dodgers
Carlos CarrascoJuly 7, 2017Cleveland Guardians
Dellin BetancesAugust 2, 2017New York Yankees
José AlvaradoAugust 4, 2017Tampa Bay Rays
Rick PorcelloAugust 9, 2017Boston Red Sox
Kevin GausmanApril 23, 2018Baltimore Orioles
Max ScherzerJune 5, 2018Washington Nationals
Germán MárquezAugust 8, 2018Colorado Rockies
Zac RosscupAugust 19, 2018Los Angeles Dodgers
Josh HaderMarch 30, 2019Milwaukee Brewers
Thomas PannoneApril 14, 2019Toronto Blue Jays
Chris SaleMay 8, 2019Boston Red Sox
Chris SaleJune 5, 2019Boston Red Sox
Stephen StrasburgJuly 3, 2019Washington Nationals
Kevin GausmanAugust 18, 2019Cincinnati Reds
Chris MartinSeptember 11, 2019Atlanta Braves
Will HarrisSeptember 27, 2019Houston Astros
Zach PlesacSeptember 18, 2020Cleveland Guardians
Kyle FinneganMay 5, 2021Washington Nationals
Michael KingJune 4, 2021New York Yankees
Chad GreenJuly 4, 2021New York Yankees
Chris SaleAugust 26, 2021Boston Red Sox
Max ScherzerSeptember 12, 2021Los Angeles Dodgers
Nestor Cortes Jr.April 17, 2022New York Yankees
Luis GarcíaJune 15, 2022Houston Astros
Phil Maton
Reid DetmersJuly 31, 2022Los Angeles Angels
Ryan HelsleySeptember 16, 2022St. Louis Cardinals
Hayden WesneskiSeptember 22, 2022Chicago Cubs
Enyel De Los SantosSeptember 27, 2022Cleveland Guardians
Colin HoldermanMay 4, 2023Pittsburgh Pirates
Johan OviedoMay 24, 2023Pittsburgh Pirates
Michael KopechJune 10, 2024Chicago White Sox


Kevin Skiver contributed to this article

Sarah Effress

Sarah Effress Photo

Sarah Effress is an editorial intern for The Sporting News. She is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, and loves to talk soccer and women's college sports.