How many pitches did Justin Martinez need for the immaculate inning?

Nine. All three outs came by strikeout, with Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Jake Burger retired in the sequence.

Which batters did Justin Martinez strike out?

Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Jake Burger of the Texas Rangers were the three hitters retired in the inning.

Is this the fifth immaculate inning in Arizona Diamondbacks history?

That is the reported total, following four earlier immaculate innings by the franchise. The club has not publicly confirmed the number.

Which inning was Justin Martinez pitching in?

That has not been disclosed, and neither has the score at the time or the final result of the game against the Rangers.

What is an immaculate inning?

It is an inning in which a pitcher retires three batters on nine pitches, all of them strikes, with all three outs recorded by strikeout.

Baseball

Justin Martinez throws immaculate inning for Arizona Diamondbacks

The nine-pitch sequence, in which he struck out Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Jake Burger, is reported to be the fifth immaculate inning in the franchise's history.

By Sportsback1h ago

4th of July Colorado Rockies - Arizona Diamondbacks game, Coors Field, Denver, 2009

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Justin Martinez of the Arizona Diamondbacks struck out Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Jake Burger on nine pitches on Friday night, completing an immaculate inning. The three Texas Rangers hitters were retired in order, and the feat is reported to be the fifth immaculate inning in the Arizona franchise's history.

What an immaculate inning is

An immaculate inning is baseball's term for retiring three batters on nine pitches, every one of them a strike, with all three outs recorded by strikeout. The sequence requires a pitcher to need no more than three pitches per hitter and to stay ahead in every count. Nine pitches is the fewest possible for a full inning, which is why the feat is treated as a notable individual achievement rather than a routine one.

The three Rangers batters

Langford, Carter and Burger were the hitters caught in the sequence. The pitch-by-pitch details — the count each batter faced, which of the nine pitches ended each at-bat, and whether the strikeouts came on swings or on called strikes — have not been disclosed. Martinez is listed as a reliever, so the inning came out of the bullpen rather than from Arizona's starting pitcher.

A fifth for the Diamondbacks

The Arizona franchise is reported to have four previous immaculate innings, making Friday's the fifth. That total has not been confirmed by the organisation or by the league, and the club has not commented publicly on the sequence. Franchise totals of immaculate innings carry weight because the feat is rare enough to be tracked separately from ordinary scoreless innings.

What is not yet known

Which inning Martinez pitched, and the score when he entered it.
The final result of the game between Arizona and Texas.
Whether the inning came in a save situation or in another role out of the bullpen.
How many pitches Martinez threw across the whole outing.
Whether the Rangers responded after the three outs were recorded.

Why the feat matters

Immaculate innings are tracked because they compress a pitcher's command into the smallest possible sample: nine strikes, three outs, nobody on base. For a relief pitcher, that is close to the cleanest inning available. For the Diamondbacks, it extends a franchise list that is now reported to run to five, a number the club has not put its name to.

The rest of the game is the obvious next step. The sequence was one inning of a contest between Arizona and Texas, and what followed at the plate and on the scoreboard has not been disclosed. The immaculate inning itself is already recorded — three outs, nine pitches — but the wider picture of the night, and of Martinez's season, remains to be filled in.

Frequently asked questions

How many pitches did Justin Martinez need for the immaculate inning?: Nine. All three outs came by strikeout, with Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Jake Burger retired in the sequence.
Which batters did Justin Martinez strike out?: Wyatt Langford, Evan Carter and Jake Burger of the Texas Rangers were the three hitters retired in the inning.
Is this the fifth immaculate inning in Arizona Diamondbacks history?: That is the reported total, following four earlier immaculate innings by the franchise. The club has not publicly confirmed the number.
Which inning was Justin Martinez pitching in?: That has not been disclosed, and neither has the score at the time or the final result of the game against the Rangers.
What is an immaculate inning?: It is an inning in which a pitcher retires three batters on nine pitches, all of them strikes, with all three outs recorded by strikeout.