Yesterday was a busy Sunday around baseball that included an impressive nine-pitch inning and a head-scratching stretch of no-hit innings. Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s games.
Cortes was Immaculate
The first immaculate inning of the 2022 season belongs to Yankees’ lefthander Nestor Cortes Jr. The sidearm slinging, mustachioed man struck out the side with nine consecutive strikes in the fourth inning. Cortes was brilliant all afternoon, pitching five scoreless innings on three hits, one walk, and 12 strikeouts. As Nick noted in his starting pitcher roundup this morning, all but three of the outs Cortes recorded on Sunday were via the strikeout.
All 9 pitches of Nestor Cortes recording the 39th immaculate inning of MLB history pic.twitter.com/9WYmfFHZkn
— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) April 17, 2022
No Hits, Five Walks Through Five
Matt Brash’s day wasn’t as good as you’d expect from a starting pitcher who held opposing batters hitless into the sixth inning. The Mariners’ right-hander walked at least one batter in each of the first four innings, with two free passes and a hit by pitch in the second. Each time, however, Brash escaped trouble with a double play. In the first, he got the help of his catcher with a strike ’em out, throw ’em out double play. In the second, third, and fourth, Brash induced ground balls and erased runners with double plays.
By the sixth, Brash struck out the leadoff batter before running into trouble. After a Jose Altuve single, Michael Brantley homered to put the Astros on the board. Both hits came on Brash’s slider. Although he struggled to throw strikes, Brash picked up his first career win on Sunday.
Strike 'em out ✅
Throw 'em out ✅ pic.twitter.com/s9yExzvw5O— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 17, 2022
Suzuki Hits Home Run #4
After leaving Japan to sign with the Cubs this offseason, Seiya Suzuki has not disappointed. The outfielder continued to stay hot this weekend, hitting his fourth home run on the season on Sunday. He drove a 1-1 fastball to the opposite field where it snuck out and over the wall. Coming into that seventh inning at-bat, Suzuki had been on base twice with two walks (one being an intentional walk). Although the season is still young, the 27-year-old outfielder is off to a hot start. On the season, Suzuki is slashing .400/.543/.960 with a .595 wOBA through nine games.
Stay hot, Seiya 🔥 pic.twitter.com/pfRm3TUIfR
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2022
The Marlins Can’t Stop Tripling
Miami jumped all over Phillies’ ace Zack Wheeler on Sunday, putting up seven earned runs over three innings to hand him the loss. Two of the team’s eight hits were triples, giving them five three-baggers on the season. Jesús Sánchez and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each have two triples, and Miguel Rojas has one.
According to the Miami Marlins‘ Communication Department, the team is the first since the 1990 Chicago White Sox to record five triples in their first four home games of the season. It’s also the third time in franchise history that they’ve recorded five triples in their first nine games of the season. After a disappointing 1-and-4 start, the Marlins took three of four games from the Phillies and are back to 4-and-5 on the season.
Another Jazz Chisholm Jr. triple!!! pic.twitter.com/L3BrwHD6Cp
— Fish On First Spaces (@MarlinsSpaces) April 17, 2022
Mike Trout Day-to-Day After Hit by Pitch
I saved the bad news for last. In his third at-bat of the day, Trout attempted to get out of the way on a slider that ran inside, but wound up pulling his hand right into in the path of the pitch. The outfielder told the media after the game that he was battling the shadows during the at-bat and had trouble tracking the pitch. The good news is that x-rays on Trout’s hand showed no broken bones. Trout is listed as day-to-day and the Angels hope to see him back in the lineup after a few days of rest.
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)