The San Diego Padres acquired Mason Miller at the trade deadline for moments exactly like this.
Miller showed why he was such a coveted pickup Wednesday night, striking out three Baltimore Orioles on nine pitches for an immaculate inning in San Diego’s 7-5 loss.
The flame-throwing closer carved up Jeremiah Jackson, Ryan Mountcastle, and Emmanuel Rivera with surgical precision. Three batters, three strikeouts, nine pitches.
It’s a hugely consequential achievement for Miller personally and for franchise history.
Miller becomes just the second pitcher in Padres history to throw an immaculate inning. The other was Brian Lawrence on June 12, 2002 – also against the Orioles, which makes this even more remarkable.
Miller’s perfect inning was the 117th immaculate inning in major league history. He’s the 108th different pitcher to accomplish the feat.
For context, only Sandy Koufax, Chris Sale, and Max Scherzer have thrown three immaculate innings in their careers – tied for the most all-time.
The performance highlighted exactly why the Padres targeted Miller as they chase the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West crown. With the loss, San Diego falls to 76-64, still three games behind their division rivals.
One month into his tenure with the Friars, Miller’s already making franchise history. That’s the kind of impact they were hoping for when they made the move.
