The game of baseball takes its history very seriously. There is no other sport where historical statistics take on such meaning.
It’s why what occurred on Thursday night was so special. Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale joined Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax as the only pitchers to have thrown three immaculate innings.
What’s an immaculate inning you ask?
An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out all three batters in one inning and does so by throwing the minimum number of pitches possible — nine.
On Thursday night, Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale made history, throwing the third immaculate inning of his career against the Minnesota Twins.
Sale accomplished the feat by striking out Nick Gordon, Andrelton Simmons and Rob Refsnyder of the Twins.
“I don’t remember if I’ve been part of an immaculate inning,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Sale’s feat. “[Major League coach Bill Evers] looked right at me, next to me on the bench, and said, ‘That was nine pitches, nine strikes.’ I was not locked in on that fact. I was thinking about looking at other things.”
Sale’s two other immaculate innings came on May 8, 2019, against the Baltimore Orioles and June 5, 2019, against the Kansas City Royals.
Sale was starting just his third game of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss the entirety of the 2020 season.
“Today was probably the best my mechanics have been start-to-finish. I really felt like I was staying on top of the baseball. I really kind of found it out in the bullpen before the game,” said Sale.
Sale moved to 3-0 on the season in Boston’s 12-2 victory over the Twins. Sale went 5 ⅓ innings, striking out eight while giving up just the two earned runs. The only blip in his box score was a two-run home run by Willians Astudillo.
“That’s probably the most [angry] I’ve been on the baseball field in a while,” Sale said about the next batter he faced after the home run. “That’s just coming out of anger and frustration. … Today was probably the best my mechanics have been [from] start to finish.”
“He was good, he showed us that he has something in the tank,” manager Alex Cora said.
The Red Sox are currently seven games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East but are currently holding the second Wild Card spot. They begin their series against the Cleveland Indians Friday night in Cleveland.
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Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].