Justin Martinez threw nine pitches in the sixth inning at Chase Field. All nine were strikes. Wyatt Langford struck out swinging. Evan Carter struck out swinging. Jake Burger struck out swinging. Nine pitches, three strikeouts, no balls — an immaculate inning, the fourth in the major leagues in 2026.
"Nine strikes" carries a picture the scorecard does not support. An immaculate inning is defined by outcomes, not location. A foul ball counts as a strike. A swing at a pitch nowhere near the plate counts as a strike. Nine pitches, nine strikes does not mean nine pitches in the zone.
Five of Martinez's nine were in the strike zone. Four were not. Those four were strikes anyway — swung at, fouled or missed, because a pitch outside the zone that a hitter takes is a ball, and there were no balls in this inning. The other five were in the zone. What the hitters did with any of the nine — which they took, which they fouled, which they swung through before the final swing — the scorecard does not record. It holds the totals and the outcomes.
All three strikeouts were swinging. Langford swung through strike three. Carter swung through strike three. Burger swung through strike three.
Nine pitches for three outs leaves no room for a mistake. A fouled two-strike pitch extends an at-bat and pushes the inning toward ten. A borderline call taken the wrong way costs a ball and breaks the string. An immaculate inning demands that the pitcher throw nothing but strikes and that the hitters give him nothing that prolongs a count — and both must hold for nine consecutive pitches.
Martinez faced three Rangers and none of his nine pitches was a ball. Arizona won 9–1. Nine pitches, five in the zone, four out of it, three swinging strikeouts. The fourth immaculate inning of the season.
