Two immaculate innings for Astros in same game

Immaculate innings are rare. The Astros threw two in the same game.

Major League Baseball goes back a long way, but it had never before seen — and may never see again — what unfolded Wednesday at Globe Life Field, writes Des Bieler of The Washington Post.

The visiting Houston Astros threw not one but two immaculate innings. After starter Luis Garcia struck out all three Texas Rangers batters on just nine pitches in the second inning in Arlington, Texas, reliever Phil Maton (pictured) took the mound to start the seventh and turned the same trick.

Making the sequence all the more noteworthy was that the Houston pitchers victimized the same three Texas batters: Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran and Brad Miller.

According to MLB.com, this was the first time in major league history two immaculate innings were pitched on the same day, let alone in the same game.

“We obviously knew they were cruising pretty good,” Miller said after the game, a 9-2 Astros win. “I wish I would have taken some better swings, and wish they didn’t get it.”

“To be part of that, anytime you make history ... I’m glad I was catching in that situation,” said Houston’s Martin Maldonado ,a 35-year-old catcher in his 11th major league season. He said he couldn’t recall being involved in an immaculate inning at any level.

In all, there have been 105 immaculate innings on record in MLB. The 103rd was accomplished this season by the New York Yankees’ Nestor Cortes against the host Baltimore Orioles.

“It’s super cool,” said Maton, the former Padres reliever. “It’s not something you go out here every day and obviously strive to do. Obviously, you’re trying to strike out every hitter you face. Still kind of trying to wrap my head around it. Cool experience.”

After Maton’s final strike to Miller ended the seventh, Maldonado threw the ball to third baseman Alex Bregman out of force of habit.

“Everybody in the dugout was like, ‘I need that ball! I need that ball!’ ” the catcher said afterward.

When Maton and Garcia got back to their lockers, they each found a ball from their respective immaculate innings marked with an authentication sticker.

“After I got the second strikeout, I already knew (I had a chance),” Garcia said. “When I was throwing a perfect game in the fifth (earlier this year), I didn’t want to think of that, but this time I thought of it. I said, ‘Let’s go for it.’ I’m glad that happened.”

A 25-year-old in his second full major league season, Garcia lowered his season ERA to 3.41 by allowing one earned run in six innings Wednesday, including nine strikeouts. After Maton unfurled his dominant seventh inning, Houston relievers Seth Martinez and

Brandon Bielak closed out a lopsided win that also happened to take place on manager

Dusty Baker’s 73rd birthday.

“A couple of records, the same guys we struck them out back-to-back-to-back with nine pitches . ... So it was a good day for us,” Baker said.