Nick Loftin led off for Kansas City at Fenway Park, and Payton Tolle struck him out — called out on strikes. Bobby Witt Jr. stepped in and struck out swinging. Jac Caglianone followed, same result.
Nine pitches, three strikeouts, and no ball called. The fifth immaculate inning in the major leagues this season.
Nine strikes sounds like nine pitches in the zone, a man putting the ball where the umpire would call it. The scorecard says six of the nine were in the strike zone. Three were not. They still count as strikes because a swing registers as a strike wherever the ball finishes, and two of these three outs came on swings. An immaculate inning is what the record shows — three strikeouts on nine pitches — not where any of those pitches went.
Tolle threw 96 pitches over six innings, gave up four hits, walked one, and struck out seven. Boston won 4–1. Nine of those 96 pitches opened the game, and not one was a ball.
