Latest news with #immaculateinning
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cubs' Andrew Kittredge completes rare immaculate inning vs. Reds
The post Cubs' Andrew Kittredge completes rare immaculate inning vs. Reds appeared first on ClutchPoints. The Chicago Cubs were surpassed in the division as the team was unable to keep pace with the Milwaukee Brewers' incredible run over the last month. Chicago had lost three of the last four games entering the series finale with the Cincinnati Reds. Cubs reliever Andrew Kittredge took the loss in Tuesday's game. But he bounced back in impressive fashion. After allowing four runs in 1/3 inning, Chicago handed the ball right back to Kittredge on Wednesday. The team brought him in to protect a two-run lead in the seventh and the former All-Star responded by throwing an immaculate inning, per MLB. The rare feat occurs when a pitcher records three strikeouts in just nine pitches. Kittredge only needed the minimum number of tosses to get through the inning. He got Austin Hays, Gavin Lux and Tyler Stephenson to go down swinging. Each was started off with back-to-back mid-90s sinkers before getting put away on 90 mph sliders. Cubs' bullpen rebounds against Reds The Cubs added Kittredge in a deal with the Baltimore Orioles at the trade deadline. The team added the ninth-year veteran for bullpen depth. He performed well in his first two appearances for Chicago, earning holds in scoreless innings against his former team. But on Tuesday, the Reds lit Kittredge up. Fortunately, the pitcher was able to right the ship on Wednesday in spectacular fashion, earning his 10th hold of the season. Kittredge is now 2-3 with a 4.18 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings in 2025. He landed in Chicago after signing a one-year, $10 million deal with the Orioles over the offseason. With the win the Cubs improved to 66-48 on the season. The team is attempting to retake the NL Central after being surpassed by the Brewers. Chicago is now 3.5 games back in the division but Milwaukee plays the Atlanta Braves later tonight. The Brewers have won five straight games and eight of their last nine. Related: Reds manager Terry Francona snaps at reporter after blowout loss to Cubs Related: Biggest concern Cubs still have after 2025 MLB trade deadline
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cubs' new pitcher just threw an immaculate inning
Cubs' new pitcher just threw an immaculate inning originally appeared on The Sporting News The last time he took the mound at Wrigley Field, just one day ago, Andrew Kittredge was showered with boos leaving the field. It was his second Chicago Cubs outing, and he gave up four runs. This time around, Kittredge was immaculate. The right-handed reliever, acquired at the trade deadline from the Baltimore Orioles. threw an immaculate inning on Wednesday afternoon against the Cincinnati Reds. That means nine strikes, three outs, three strikeouts on just those nine pitches. MORE: Guardians' Nic Enright reaches special personal milestone in comeback from cancer He definitely got some help from the first batter in the sequence, cleanup man Austin Hays. Kittredge threw a slider well off the plate away, and Hays flailed anyway. Kittredge threw a sharper breaking ball to get a swing and miss from Gavin Lux for the second out. And against Tyler Stephenson, it was the breaking ball again, another swing and miss for strike three. Kittredge cracked a smile walking off the field, something like 18 hours after his brutal outing. MORE: Blue Jays' Ernie Clement shows lifelong hitting ability in historic night for Toronto Records on immaculate innings aren't foolproof, because pitch-tracking data hasn't always been as good as it is now. But there have almost certainly been fewer than 150 in the history of Major League Baseball. Kittredge can add his name to that list, and Cubs fans will probably be a bit fonder of him now that he just pulled off such a special feat. It's hard to have a better bounceback outing than this one, especially in a key spot with Chicago up just 2-0. That's great trust in the new guy from manager Craig Counsell, it's a great job by Kittredge to deliver under pressure. MORE MLB NEWS: Roman Anthony gets paid by the Red Sox Steven Kwan shows kindness on the most stressful day of his MLB career Marlins' Jakob Marsee starts his MLB career in a way no one ever has Cubs' Matthew Boyd has mastered the balk pickoff move Oneil Cruz makes one of the best throws in MLB history Yankees are paying 3 players a combined $43.8 million to not play for them
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto robbed of immaculate inning on bizarrely bad call
If anything, Yoshinobu Yamamoto left that pitch too far into the zone. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images) There are bad ball/strike calls, and there's what cost Yoshinobu Yamamoto an immaculate inning on Thursday. The Los Angeles Dodgers star had the achievement — a three-strikeout inning on nine pitches — in hand against the San Diego Padres in the third inning. Bryce Johnson was called out on strikes, Martín Maldonado struck out swinging and Fernando Tatis Jr. fell behind 0-2. Advertisement One pitch away from an achievement more rare than a no-hitter, Yamamoto reared back and delivered a fastball right down the middle, which Tatis didn't even swing at. Ball 1, according to home plate umpire Marvin Hudson. Take a look at the pitch for yourself: The pitch tracking wasn't too charitable to Hudson. Sure, the pitch was a bit up in the zone, but this is called a strike 99 times out of 100. Yamamoto just managed to get the one out of 100 on the verge of a real achievement. That's not going to help the calls for robot umps. After a curveball was rightfully called low for ball two, Yamamoto struck out Tatis with a cutter out of the zone. So he had to settle for an 11-pitch, three-strikeout inning. There has been one immaculate inning in MLB this season so far, thrown by Cal Quantrill for the Miami Marlins on May 18. They sound like a simple enough achievement, but the fact is they are extremely fleeting. Only 118 have been thrown in MLB history, compared to 326 no-hitters recognized by MLB, and only three pitchers — Sandy Koufax, Chris Sale, Max Scherzer — have thrown more than two in their careers.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Marlins' Cal Quantrill pitches MLB's 1st immaculate inning of 2025, and 118th in baseball history
Miami Marlins or Tampa Bay Rays fans not paying close attention during the fourth inning of Sunday's matchup might have been surprised by how quickly the top of the frame went by. Or they may have missed a special achievement by Marlins pitcher Cal Quantrill. However, those who were dialed in watched the first immaculate inning of the 2025 MLB season and the 118th in baseball history. If you're unfamiliar with the term, an immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out the side on nine pitches. Quantrill led off the inning by sitting down Jonathan Aranda on three consecutive cutters, all on the high and inside portion of the strike zone. The right-hander then got ahead of Christopher Morel with a sinker and curveball before catching him looking at a four-seam fastball on the high outside corner. Quantrill finished off the inning with a fastball to Kameron Misner followed by two cutters, the last of which was high and out of the strike zone. But Misner chased it for a strikeout. An immaculate inning might not seem more rare than a perfect game. And in terms of numbers, it isn't. There have been 23 perfect games pitched in MLB history compared to those 118 immaculate innings. But in terms of percentages, pitching an immaculate inning is more rare, as MLB analyst Ryan Spaeder explained on social media. Out of approximately 460,000 pitched games in major league history, 23 of those have been perfect games — or roughly 0.00500% (1 in 20,000). Compare that to around 4,275,000 innings pitched and 118 of them being immaculate. That equals about 0.00276% (1 one in 36,229). So for those who were watching Quantrill in that fourth inning closely, congratulations! You witnessed a rare feat in baseball history. Quantrill's immaculate inning was the first in MLB since Tampa Bay's Ryan Pepiot threw one last season on Sept. 18, 2024, versus the Boston Red Sox. (Two were thrown last year.) And he's the second Marlins pitcher to do so since Jesus Sanchez got three strikeouts on nine pitches against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 13, 1998. (There were five immaculate innings thrown that season.) You can scroll through the complete list of immaculate innings in MLB history, dating back to 1889, here. Quantrill, 30, will surely enjoy achieving that feat in what's been a rough season for him thus far. In eight starts prior to Sunday's performance, he compiled a 7.00 ERA and 2-4 record with 23 strikeouts in 36 innings. That rate of 5.8 strikeouts per nine innings is the second-lowest of his seven-year MLB career. He was also allowing 11.5 hits per nine frames, the highest rate of his seven seasons. Behind Quantrill allowing one run with two hits and six strikeouts over five innings, the Marlins defeated the Rays, 5-1. Miami's runs came on a three-run homer from Otto Lopez in the fourth, followed by a two-run shot by Liam Hicks in the sixth. Following his five innings, Quantrill now has a 6.37 ERA and 3-4 record with 29 strikeouts in 41 innings. His strikeout rate improved to 6.37, while his hit rate is down to 10.54. So there's definitely room for Quantrill to improve. He might just have to keep pitching immaculately to get there.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Marlins' Cal Quantrill pitches MLB's 1st immaculate inning of 2025, and 118th in baseball history
Miami Marlins or Tampa Bay Rays fans not paying close attention during the fourth inning of Sunday's matchup might have been surprised by how quickly the top of the frame went by. Or they may have missed a special achievement by Marlins pitcher Cal Quantrill. However, those who were dialed in watched the first immaculate inning of the 2025 MLB season and the 118th in baseball history. If you're unfamiliar with the term, an immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out the side on nine pitches. Quantrill led off the inning by sitting down Jonathan Aranda on three consecutive cutters, all on the high and inside portion of the strike zone. The right-hander then got ahead of Christopher Morel with a sinker and curveball before catching him looking at a four-seam fastball on the high outside corner. Quantrill finished off the inning with a fastball to Kameron Misner followed by two cutters, the last of which was high and out of the strike zone. But Misner chased it for a strikeout. An immaculate inning might not seem more rare than a perfect game. And in terms of numbers, it isn't. There have been 23 perfect games pitched in MLB history compared to those 118 immaculate innings. But in terms of percentages, pitching an immaculate inning is more rare, as MLB analyst Ryan Spaeder explained on social media. Out of approximately 460,000 pitched games in major league history, 23 of those have been perfect games — or roughly 0.00500% (1 in 20,000). Compare that to around 4,275,000 innings pitched and 118 of them being immaculate. That equals about 0.00276% (1 one in 36,229). So for those who were watching Quantrill in that fourth inning closely, congratulations! You witnessed a rare feat in baseball history. Quantrill's immaculate inning was the first in MLB since Tampa Bay's Ryan Pepiot threw one last season on Sept. 18, 2024, versus the Boston Red Sox. (Two were thrown last year.) And he's the second Marlins pitcher to do so since Jesus Sanchez got three strikeouts on nine pitches against the Atlanta Braves on Sept. 13, 1998. (There were five immaculate innings thrown that season.) You can scroll through the complete list of immaculate innings in MLB history, dating back to 1889, here. Quantrill, 30, will surely enjoy achieving that feat in what's been a rough season for him thus far. In eight starts prior to Sunday's performance, he compiled a 7.00 ERA and 2-4 record with 23 strikeouts in 36 innings. That rate of 5.8 strikeouts per nine innings is the second-lowest of his seven-year MLB career. He was also allowing 11.5 hits per nine frames, the highest rate of his seven seasons. Behind Quantrill allowing one run with two hits and six strikeouts over five innings, the Marlins defeated the Rays, 5-1. Miami's runs came on a three-run homer from Otto Lopez in the fourth, followed by a two-run shot by Liam Hicks in the sixth. Following his five innings, Quantrill now has a 6.37 ERA and 3-4 record with 29 strikeouts in 41 innings. His strikeout rate improved to 6.37, while his hit rate is down to 10.54. So there's definitely room for Quantrill to improve. He might just have to keep pitching immaculately to get there.
