WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – Astros pitcher Luis Garcia knew he had thrown the ball very well on the fifth inning on Wednesday night. It didn’t hit him until he was sitting on the bench, however, how well.
“I was throwing the ball, that’s it,” he said. “Thinking about the reserve bench, waiting for the next inning, I thought ‘My God, I think I did a perfect inning.’ So, wow, I did. “
After giving up five well-deserved runs and six hits for Nacional in his first spring game five days earlier, Garcia turned the game on Washington by launching an immaculate inning in Astros’ 11-8 victory at the Palm Beaches Ballpark.
An immaculate inning is when a pitcher hits the touchline in nine shots. Garcia, fighting for a spot in the rotation, checked Alex Avila, Carter Kieboom and Victor Robles in the fifth without throwing a ball. Unfortunately, he accompanied Trea Turner to start the sixth entry.
Garcia launched four goalless entries, eliminating five hitters, allowing two hits and two walks.
“He was doing great tonight,” said Astros coach Dusty Baker. “This is the best way out this spring. He was operating from behind because he was gone for a while [in quarantine]. His change was abrupt, his breaking ball was abrupt, his fast ball was electric. He played the ball really well tonight, and I hope we can see a lot more of those immaculate entries. It makes life easier for a manager. “
An immaculate inning is such a rare feat that it has only been done 102 times in baseball history in the regular season, with Will Harris – currently from the Nationals – as the latest Astros pitcher to do so (September 27, 2019). He was the first Houston pitcher to do this since Brandon Backe on April 14, 2004.
Other Astros / Colt .45 who did this in the regular season are Shane Reynolds (July 15, 1999), Randy Johnson (September 2, 1998), Mike Magnante (August 22, 1987), Pete Harnisch (September 6, 1991) and Bob Bruce (April 14, 1964).
Garcia, the sixth place in the Astros ranking by the MLB Pipeline, was one of the 10 Astros pitchers who made their Major League debut last year. He posted an ERA of 2.92 in five games of the regular season and started a game in the playoffs.