Michael Kopech became the first pitcher to throw an immaculate inning in 101 years Wednesday, striking out the side on nine pitches in the ninth inning of the White Sox’ 3-1 victory against the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Two games after allowing four runs including a three-run walk-off homer to the Marlins’ Jake Burger Sunday, and two days after bouncing back with a scoreless 10th in a Sox loss to the Twins, Kopech (5.18 ERA) recorded his ninth save by striking out Brooks Lee, Matt Wallner and Max Kepler.
Lee went down looking at a 100-mph fastball and Wallner and Kepler swinging at 100-mph fastballs, Kepler trying to check his swing.
It was the first immaculate inning in the majors this season and the first by a Sox since Sloppy Thurston in a game against the Philadelphia Athletics in 1923.
“I was telling guys in [the clubhouse], I’m trying not to lie about it, I was thinking about it from pitch four,” Kopech said. “As soon as I realized there were no balls on the board, I wanted to finish that feat off.”
The win for the Sox (27-67) was their first in nine games against the Twins (52-40) this season. It broke a three-game losing streak that began with Kopech’s debacle in Miami Sunday.
“You could definitely say I needed that,” Kopech said.
Kopech’s aim in the aftermath of Sunday to throw more offspeed pitches was evident with four cutters.
“It’s been a tough stretch, just felt a little bit inconsistent,” Kopech said. “Had a game plan that I’ve been tentative to lean on, and we finally leaned into it the last couple days. [Catcher] Korey’ [Lee has] done a great job of sticking with me through that, and to see it pay off was extremely rewarding. I didn’t expect it to be in that manner, but it was pretty fun.
Michael Kopech pic.twitter.com/FR9tdFo0rp
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) July 10, 2024
“Just to throw more off-speed, throw more breaking balls. I was able to land my cutter probably more consistently than I would have been able to land my fastball today. But it made my fastball play better, which is what we talked about.”
“That’s what he’s capable of doing,” manager Pedro Grifol said, “and we’re not going to give up on that, ever. That’s the talent that he’s got and that’s what he can bring to the table.”