The immaculate inning (three strikeouts on nine pitches in a single inning) is one of the most impressive feats in baseball. For one thing, it’s an incredibly rare achievement—there have been far fewer immaculate innings (104, by 95 pitchers) than no-hitters (313)—but it’s also astonishing to watch a pitcher be that unhittable.
Chris Sale is one of only seven pitchers to have thrown multiple immaculate innings and, by accomplishing the feat yet again on Thursday night against the Twins, he joined Sandy Koufax as one of the only two pitchers to have three of them.
Sale mowed down Nick Gordon, Andrelton Simmons and Rob Refsnyder by making them look silly.