Garcia, Maton pitch Astros to history: 1st MLB team to throw 2 immaculate innings in same game

ARLINGTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston Astros can officially claim a Major League Baseball "unicorn."

Starting pitcher Luis Garcia and reliever Phil Maton threw immaculate innings in their game against the Texas Rangers, marking the first time in baseball that a team threw multiple immaculate innings in the same game.

Garcia, the 25-year-old from Venezuela, was first up when he pitched only the 107th immaculate inning since 1889, or 133 years of baseball, by retiring the three Rangers batters he faced in the second inning by strikeout, throwing the minimum nine pitches to qualify.

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Those Rangers were - and keep these names in mind - Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran, and Brad Miller. Garcia got swinging strikeouts each from the three Rangers.

Garcia ultimately pitched six innings, giving up four hits and an earned run. The Astros were up 7-2 heading into the seventh inning and Maton's turn to make history.

For the 108th time in MLB history, and the second in just five innings, the 29-year-old Maton was immaculate, also retiring Lowe, Duran, and Miller on just nine pitches. Lowe and Miller struck out swinging while Duran changed things up with a punchout looking.

Let's unpack the history made: no other game in MLB history has had a team record multiple immaculate innings, let alone two that involved the same batters.

Garcia and Maton are also the eighth and ninth immaculate innings thrown in Houston baseball history.

The first came in 1964 with the Colt .45s' Bob Bruce. Before Garcia, Will Harris threw the Astros' most recent immaculate inning in 2019.

Other notable Houston pitchers to record the feat were Randy Johnson in 1998; Shane Reynolds in 1999, and Brandon Backe in 2004.

The Astros defeated the Rangers, 9-2. The team also posted a very cheeky reference to the history made.

"The vibes are immaculate," the team tweeted.