ARLINGTON, Texas — Being on the wrong side of history is never fun. Being on the wrong side of immaculate history?
“It sucks,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “It’s not fun, I mean that’s all I can say.”
The Houston Astros had not one, but two pitchers throw immaculate innings against the Rangers in a 9-2 win on Wednesday. Starting pitcher Luis Garcia did it in the second inning, and reliever Phil Maton did it in the seventh. The accomplishment happens when a pitcher has three strikeouts on nine pitches. For one inning, it doesn’t get any more perfect than that.
Garcia said he was talking to his teammates in the dugout during the seventh inning when the dugout “erupted.”
“I said 'what happened?' ” Garcia recalled.
History happened, and it gets even crazier.
There had never been two immaculate innings thrown on the same calendar date by two pitchers on any team before Wednesday, let alone the same team. To make it even more notable, Garcia and Maton did it against the same three Rangers hitters: Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran and Brad Miller. There were also unconfirmed reports of pigs flying over Globe Life Field.
“We obviously knew they were cruising pretty good,” Miller said of the immaculate innings. “I wish I would’ve taken some better swings and I wish they didn’t get it.”
The Rangers have never had an immaculate inning. On Wednesday, they saw what it takes — twice.
Briefly
Woodward said they’ll look at Adolis García’s knee after an awkward catch in the ninth inning of Wednesday’s game, though they hope it’s nothing serious. García made the catch at the wall and then dropped to a knee, requiring medical attention before he was quickly cleared to finish the inning … García had two hits on Wednesday and now has 18 multi-hit games on the season, which is tied with Lowe for the team lead. He also has a seven-game hitting streak, which is tied for the second-longest of his career … Utility player Charlie Culberson had an 11-pitch, 1-2-3 inning in the ninth inning. He has a scoreless streak of 5 1/3 innings pitched and a career ERA of 1.42 in seven appearances.
