CHICAGO — Two batters into his outing Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, Andrew Kittredge knew he had a chance to do something special.
The difficulty of completing an immaculate inning — striking out all three batters in a frame on the minimum nine pitches — is highlighted by how few pitchers have pulled off the feat. Kittredge became only the sixth known pitcher in Cubs history to record an immaculate inning in a 6-1 win against the Cincinnati Reds when he struck out former Orioles outfielder Austin Hays, Gavin Lux and Tyler Stephenson in the seventh inning, putting each of them away on a whiff.
The others Cubs to do it:
- Hayden Wesneski, Sept. 22, 2022, vs. the Pirates
- LaTroy Hawkins, Sept. 11, 2004, vs. the Marlins
- Lynn McGlothen, Aug. 25, 1979, vs. the Giants
- Bruce Sutter, Sept. 8, 1977, vs. the Expos
- Milt Pappas, Sept. 24, 1971, vs. the Phillies
Kittredge knew he had a shot at it after the second strikeout.
“Just trying to make pitches at that point,” said Kittredge, who signed with the Orioles this past offseason before being traded. “Honestly, it was kind of building off last night where I was not in the zone as much as I like to be and today I just kind of made it more of a conscious effort to be in the zone and it just kind of fell into place.”
Catcher Carson Kelly realized that Kittredge was on the verge of perfection before the final pitch as he ran through the pitch sequencing from the inning: sinker-sinker-slider to Hays, sinker-sinker-slider to Lux and sinker-sinker to Stephenson.
Kelly quickly pondered what to call in that moment and again went back to the slider to put away Stephenson.
“It was pretty cool to be part of that,” said Kelly, who believes that was his first immaculate inning behind the plate.
Beyond the impressiveness of the feat, Kittredge’s inning of perfection was a needed bounce-back outing after Cubs fans’ boos followed him off the mound the night before. The veteran — acquired in a July 31 trade with the Orioles — had surrendered four runs in a tie game during the seventh inning Tuesday in a 5-1 loss to the Reds.
“What’s cool about that is that’s what being like a big league reliever is about,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It’s about things don’t go your way the night before, and you’re asked to come out and deliver in the same situation, and you deliver, and I love that.
“You have to have a short memory, and it’s the same guy, and he’s a good pitcher, and we’re going to need him.”
Kittredge appreciated Counsell putting him right back into a close game, entering with the Cubs holding a 2-0 lead, and the trust he showed in that situation.
“You always want to just get back out there as quick as you can … just so you don’t have to stew on it too long,” Kittredge said. “Hopefully you hear more cheers than boos, but you’re going to give up runs in this game. You’re going to have success in this game, hopefully, and just try to enjoy the times where it’s going well.”