Immaculate innings are so nice, the Arizona Diamondbacks had to notch one twice already this season.
D-Backs relief pitcher Justin Martinez took the mound Friday after his team had taken a 4-1 lead over the Texas Rangers at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. Martinez channeled his inner Randy Johnson to make sure the score stood still in the top of the 6th inning.
Martinez blazed past leadoff hitter Wyatt Langford with two 100-mph pitches for strikes before getting him to swing and miss on a nasty splitter. turned up the heat against Evan Carter, sandwiching a splitter in the zone with a pair of triple-digit fastballs to induce a swinging strikeout.
The Dominican then struck out Jake Burger on three pitches via a low splitter to complete the immaculate inning.
Justin Martinez pitches an IMMACULATE INNING! pic.twitter.com/UzNjg4Tu4y
— MLB (@MLB) September 12, 2026
“I told myself, ‘Don’t think about that, don’t think about that. Just keep throwing strikes,’ and then it happened,” Martinez told reporters after the game.
Martinez’s immaculate inning was the fifth in franchise history and the second this season alone. Diamondbacks starter Michael Soroka had one of his own in a March 30 contest against the Detroit Tigers, striking out 10 batters, including three in a row in the 5th inning on nine pitches.
The 25-year-old entered Friday’s matchup with just 6.2 innings of work out of Arizona’s bullpen. But he had been outstanding in those appearances, with zero earned runs allowed across seven games.
Martinez’s pitching showcase must have fired up the Diamondbacks’ hitters. They went on to plate five runs in the next half-inning en route to a 9-1 win.
