List of Major League Baseball pitchers who have struck out three batters on nine pitches

In Major League Baseball, 43 pitchers have thrown a nine-pitch, three-strikeout half-inning,^[1] throwing nothing but strikes (the feat has been performed a total of 46 times, with three pitchers having done it twice). This feat is commonly referred to as an immaculate inning.^[2][3][4][5]

Contents 1 Key 2 List 3 Notable achievers 4 Records 5 Sources 6 Footnotes

Key

Player	Name of the player
Date	Date the player struck out three batters on nine pitches
Team	The player's team
Inning	Inning the pitcher struck out three batters on nine pitches
Score	Final score of the game
†	Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
*	Player is active

List

Player		Team	Inning	Score	Opponent	Batters Faced
Clarkson, JohnJohn Clarkson †	01889-06-04June 4, 1889	Boston Beaneaters (NL)	03 !Third	4–2 W	Philadelphia Quakers	Jim Fogarty, Sam Thompson, Sid Farrar
Waddell, RubeRube Waddell †	01902-07-01July 1, 1902	Philadelphia Athletics (AL)	03 !Third	2–0 W	Baltimore Orioles	Billy Gilbert, Harry Howell, John Cronin
Ragan, PatPat Ragan	01914-10-05October 5, 1914	Brooklyn Dodgers (NL)	08 !Eighth	15–2 L	Boston Braves	Possum Whitted, Butch Schmidt, Red Smith
Oeschger, JoeJoe Oeschger	01921-09-08September 8, 1921	Boston Braves (NL)	04 !Fourth	8–6 L	Philadelphia Phillies	Bevo LeBourveau, Cy Williams, Ed Konetchy
Thurston, SloppySloppy Thurston	01923-08-22August 22, 1923	Chicago White Sox (AL)	12 !Twelfth	3–2 L (13)	Philadelphia Athletics	Beauty McGowan, Chick Galloway, Sammy Hale
Vance, DazzyDazzy Vance †	01924-09-24September 24, 1924	Brooklyn Dodgers (NL)	02 !Second	6–5 W	Chicago Cubs	Sam Bohne, Bubbles Hargrave, Eppa Rixey
Grove, LeftyLefty Grove (1) †	01928-08-23August 23, 1928	Philadelphia Athletics (AL)	02 !Second	3–1 W	Cleveland Indians	Eddie Morgan, Luther Harvel, Martin Autry
Grove, LeftyLefty Grove (2) †	01928-09-27September 27, 1928	Philadelphia Athletics (AL)	07 !Seventh	5–3 W	Chicago White Sox	Moe Berg, Tommy Thomas, Johnny Mostil
Hoeft, BillyBilly Hoeft	01953-09-07September 7, 1953	Detroit Tigers (AL)	07 !Seventh	6–2 W	Chicago White Sox	Jim Rivera, Mike Fornieles, Chico Carrasquel
Bunning, JimJim Bunning †	01959-08-02August 2, 1959	Detroit Tigers (AL)	09 !Ninth	5–4 L	Boston Red Sox	Sammy White, Jim Mahoney, Ike Delock
Koufax, SandySandy Koufax (1) †	01962-06-30June 30, 1962	Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)	01 !First	5–0 W	New York Mets	Richie Ashburn, Rod Kanehl, Félix Mantilla
Koufax, SandySandy Koufax (2) †	01964-04-18April 18, 1964	Los Angeles Dodgers (NL)	03 !Third	3–0 L	Cincinnati Reds	Leo Cardenas, Johnny Edwards, Jim Maloney
Bruce, BobBob Bruce	01964-04-19April 19, 1964	Houston Colt .45s (NL)	08 !Eighth	6–1 L	St Louis Cardinals	Bill White, Charlie James, Ken Boyer
Downing, AlAl Downing	01967-08-11August 11, 1967	New York Yankees (AL)	02 !Second	5–3 W	Cleveland Indians	Tony Horton, Don Demeter, Duke Sims
Ryan, NolanNolan Ryan (1) †	01968-04-19April 19, 1968	New York Mets (NL)	03 !Third	3–2 L	Los Angeles Dodgers	Claude Osteen, Wes Parker, Zoilo Versalles
Gibson, BobBob Gibson †	01969-05-12May 12, 1969	St. Louis Cardinals (NL)	07 !Seventh	6–2 W	Los Angeles Dodgers	Len Gabrielson, Paul Popovich, John Miller
Pappas, MiltMilt Pappas	01971-09-24September 24, 1971	Chicago Cubs (NL)	04 !Fourth	6–5 L	Philadelphia Phillies	Greg Luzinski (1), Don Money, Mike Anderson
Ryan, NolanNolan Ryan (2) †	01972-07-09July 9, 1972	California Angels (AL)	02 !Second	3–0 W	Boston Red Sox	Carlton Fisk (1), Bob Burda, Juan Beniquez
Sutter, BruceBruce Sutter †	01977-09-08September 8, 1977	Chicago Cubs (NL)	09 !Ninth	3–2 W (10)	Montreal Expos	Ellis Valentine, Gary Carter, Larry Parrish
Guidry, RonRon Guidry	01984-08-07August 7, 1984	New York Yankees (AL)	09 !Ninth	7–0 W	Chicago White Sox	Carlton Fisk (2), Tom Paciorek, Greg Luzinski (2)
Robinson, JeffJeff Robinson	01987-09-07September 7, 1987	Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)	08 !Eighth	3–2 W	Chicago Cubs	Leon Durham, Andre Dawson, Rafael Palmeiro
Dibble, RobRob Dibble	01989-06-04June 4, 1989	Cincinnati Reds (NL)	08 !Eighth	5–3 W	San Diego Padres	Carmelo Martínez, Mark Parent, Garry Templeton
Montgomery, JeffJeff Montgomery	01990-04-29April 29, 1990	Kansas City Royals (AL)	08 !Eighth	5–2 W	Texas Rangers	Pete Incaviglia, Geno Petralli, Thad Bosley
Ashby, AndyAndy Ashby	01991-06-15June 15, 1991	Philadelphia Phillies (NL)	04 !Fourth	3–1 L	Cincinnati Reds	Hal Morris, Todd Benzinger, Jeff Reed (1)
Cone, DavidDavid Cone	01991-08-30August 30, 1991	New York Mets (NL)	05 !Fifth	3–2 W	Cincinnati Reds	Herm Winningham, Randy Myers, Mariano Duncan
Harnisch, PetePete Harnisch	01991-09-06September 6, 1991	Houston Astros (NL)	07 !Seventh	3–1 W	Philadelphia Phillies	Wes Chamberlain, Dickie Thon, Jose De Jesus
Wilson, TrevorTrevor Wilson	01992-06-07June 7, 1992	San Francisco Giants (NL)	09 !Ninth	3–0 W	Houston Astros	Jeff Bagwell, Eric Anthony, Rafael Ramirez
Rojas, MelMel Rojas	01994-05-11May 11, 1994	Montreal Expos (NL)	09 !Ninth	4–3 W	New York Mets	David Segui, Todd Hundley, Jeff McKnight
Magnante, MikeMike Magnante	01997-08-22August 22, 1997	Houston Astros (NL)	09 !Ninth	9–1 W	Colorado Rockies	Ellis Burks, Harvey Pulliam, Jeff Reed (2)
Johnson, RandyRandy Johnson	02001-08-23August 23, 2001	Arizona Diamondbacks (NL)	06 !Sixth	5–1 L	Pittsburgh Pirates	Tony McKnight, Gary Matthews, Jr., Jack Wilson
Isringhausen, JasonJason Isringhausen *	02002-04-13April 13, 2002	St. Louis Cardinals (NL)	09 !Ninth	2–1 W	Houston Astros	Daryle Ward, José Vizcaíno (1), Julio Lugo
Kim, Byung-HyunByung-Hyun Kim	02002-05-11May 11, 2002	Arizona Diamondbacks (NL)	08 !Eighth	6–5 W (10)	Philadelphia Phillies	Scott Rolen, Mike Lieberthal, Pat Burrell
Martínez, PedroPedro Martínez	02002-05-18May 18, 2002	Boston Red Sox (AL)	01 !First	4–1 W	Seattle Mariners	Ichiro Suzuki, Mark McLemore, Rubén Sierra
Lawrence, BrianBrian Lawrence	02002-06-12June 12, 2002	San Diego Padres (NL)	03 !Third	2–0 W	Baltimore Orioles (AL)	Brook Fordyce, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Melvin Mora
Backe, BrandonBrandon Backe	02004-04-15April 15, 2004	Houston Astros (NL)	08 !Eighth	6–2 L	Milwaukee Brewers	Bill Hall, Scott Podsednik, Craig Counsell
Sheets, BenBen Sheets *	02004-06-13June 13, 2004	Milwaukee Brewers (NL)	03 !Third	5–4 L	Houston Astros	Pete Munro, Craig Biggio, José Vizcaíno (2)
Hawkins, LaTroyLaTroy Hawkins *	02004-09-11September 11, 2004	Chicago Cubs (NL)	09 !Ninth	5–2 W	Florida Marlins	Jeff Conine, Juan Encarnacion, Álex González
Helling, RickRick Helling	02006-06-20June 20, 2006	Milwaukee Brewers (NL)	01 !First	10–1 L	Detroit Tigers (AL)	Curtis Granderson, Plácido Polanco, Iván Rodríguez
Carlyle, BuddyBuddy Carlyle *	02007-07-06July 6, 2007	Atlanta Braves (NL)	04 !Fourth	7–4 W	San Diego Padres	Khalil Greene (1), Russell Branyan, José Cruz, Jr.
Harden, RichRich Harden *	02008-06-08June 8, 2008	Oakland Athletics (AL)	01 !First	7–3 W	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Maicer Izturis, Howie Kendrick, Garret Anderson
Hernández, FélixFélix Hernández *	02008-06-18June 18, 2008	Seattle Mariners (AL)	04 !Fourth	5–4 W	Florida Marlins (NL)	Jeremy Hermida, Jorge Cantu, Mike Jacobs
Burnett, A. J.A. J. Burnett *	02009-06-20June 20, 2009	New York Yankees (AL)	03 !Third	2–1 L	Florida Marlins (NL)	Josh Johnson, Chris Coghlan, Emilio Bonifacio
Ohlendorf, RossRoss Ohlendorf *	02009-09-05September 5, 2009	Pittsburgh Pirates (NL)	07 !Seventh	2–1 L	St. Louis Cardinals	Khalil Greene (2), Julio Lugo, Jason LaRue
Soriano, RafaelRafael Soriano *	02010-08-23August 23, 2010	Tampa Bay Rays (AL)	09 !Ninth	4–3 W	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Erick Aybar, Mike Napoli, Peter Bourjos
Zimmermann, JordanJordan Zimmermann *	02011-05-06May 6, 2011	Washington Nationals (NL)	02 !Second	3–2 W	Florida Marlins	Mike Stanton, Greg Dobbs, John Buck
Pérez, JuanJuan Pérez *	02011-07-08July 8, 2011	Philadelphia Phillies (NL)	10 !Tenth	3–2 W (10)	Atlanta Braves	Jason Heyward, Nate McLouth, Wilkin Ramirez

Notable achievers

• Three pitchers have accomplished the feat twice: Grove, Koufax, and Ryan. Of them, Grove is the only pitcher ever to have achieved the feat twice in the same season, and Ryan is the only pitcher ever to have achieved the feat in both the National and American Leagues, as well as being the only right-handed pitcher to accomplish the feat twice. Grove is the only pitcher whose team won both games. All three are members of the Hall of Fame.

• Two of the pitchers who have accomplished the feat have done so in their rookie seasons: Thurston and Ashby.

• Only Pérez accomplished it in his first MLB win.

• Four of the pitchers who have accomplished the feat are members of the 3000 strikeout club: Johnson, Ryan, Gibson, and Martinez.

• Four of the pitchers who have accomplished the feat have also thrown perfect games (though not in the same game): Koufax, Bunning, Cone and Johnson.

• Guidry's and Wilson's immaculate innings are the only two to come in the ninth inning of a complete game. Both were shutout victories.

• Nine of the pitchers who have accomplished the feat have been elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame: Clarkson, Waddell, Vance, Grove, Bunning, Koufax, Ryan, Gibson, and Sutter.

• Grove, Ryan and Johnson are the only pitchers with 300 career wins to have accomplished the feat.

Records

• The 24-year-and-345-day gap between Grove's half-inning and Hoeft's half-inning is the longest span without a pitcher achieving the feat; the one-day gap between Koufax's 2nd half-inning and Bruce's half-inning is the shortest span.

• 1928 was the first year in which the feat was accomplished twice (both times by Grove); 1964 was the first year in which two pitchers accomplished the feat (Koufax and Bruce); 1991 was the first year in which three pitchers accomplished the feat (Ashby, Cone, and Harnisch); 2002 was the first year in which four pitchers accomplished the feat (Isringhausen, Kim, Martínez and Lawrence)

• José Vizcaíno, Khalil Greene, Carlton Fisk, Jeff Reed, Julio Lugo and Greg Luzinski are the only men recorded to have been victims twice. Fisk's and Luzinski's second strikeouts came in the same half-inning as did Vizcaíno's and Lugo's first.

• Three franchises have seen their pitchers accomplish the feat four times, more than any of the others: The Houston Astros, with Bruce, Harnisch, Magnante, and Backe, the Dodgers—in Brooklyn and LA—with Ragan, Vance, and Koufax twice, and the Athletics, in Philadelphia and Oakland, with Waddell, Grove twice, and Harden. The Yankees, Braves and Cubs have each seen the feat performed three times.

• As of July 8, 2011, the feat has been accomplished twenty-nine times in the National League, thirteen times in the American League, and four times in interleague play.

• Philadelphia's National League team has been a victim of an immaculate inning a record five times; once as the Quakers and four times as the Phillies.

• As of the 2010 season, only five pitchers have struck out the side on nine pitches in the final inning to end the game and record a save (Bunning, Sutter, Rojas, Isringhausen, and Soriano).

• 1967-68-69 was the first time it happened three years in a row. 1991 was the first time it happened three times in one year, and in 2002 it happened four times. As of 2011, it has happened every year for six years in a row, the only time it has happened for more than four consecutive years.

Sources

• Retrosheet
• Baseball Almanac
• Baseball Digest

Footnotes

Major League Baseball records Baseball statistics (types of records) General Record holders Single-game records Single-season records Career records Record breakers by season Records considered unbreakable Batting leaders Career Batting average (.330+) On-base% (.400+) Slugging% (.500+) On-base plus slugging (.900+) OPS/OPS+ 3,000 hit club Hits (2,000+) Doubles (400+) Triples (100+) Home runs (career) Home runs (top 300) 500 home run club RBIs (1,000+) Total bases (4,000+) Walks drawn (top 100) Strikeouts (Top 16 / 1,400+) Hit records Home run records Doubles records Triples records RBI records Consecutive games played 2,500 games played 10,000 at-bats Single season Triples (20+) Home runs (by year) 50 home run club RBI (by year) Batting average (by year) Single-season home run record Baserunning leaders Career Runs (1,000+) Stolen bases Stolen base records Runs records Single season Stolen bases (by year) Pitching leaders Career Wins 300 win club Games started Games finished Innings pitched Strikeouts (top 100) 3,000 strikeout club 300 save club Shutouts ERA (top 200) WHIP (top 100) Walks allowed (top 100) Hit batsmen (top 100) Wins records Single season Wins (by year) Saves (by year) Shutouts (by year) Strikeouts (by year) Earned run average (by year) Managing records Wins and winning percentage Single-game records Four home runs Hitting for the cycle No-hitter Perfect game Strikeouts Unassisted triple play Three strikeouts on nine pitches Multiple stat clubs Triple Crown 20–20–20 club 30–30 club 40–40 club