The last time he took the mound at Wrigley Field, just one day ago, Andrew Kittredge was showered with boos leaving the field.
It was his second Chicago Cubs outing, and he gave up four runs.
This time around, Kittredge was immaculate.
The right-handed reliever, acquired at the trade deadline from the Baltimore Orioles. threw an immaculate inning on Wednesday afternoon against the Cincinnati Reds.
That means nine strikes, three outs, three strikeouts on just those nine pitches.
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He definitely got some help from the first batter in the sequence, cleanup man Austin Hays. Kittredge threw a slider well off the plate away, and Hays flailed anyway.
Kittredge threw a sharper breaking ball to get a swing and miss from Gavin Lux for the second out.
And against Tyler Stephenson, it was the breaking ball again, another swing and miss for strike three.
Kittredge cracked a smile walking off the field, something like 18 hours after his brutal outing.
Immaculate inning from Andrew Kittredge! pic.twitter.com/uUN2vmjZJc
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 6, 2025
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Records on immaculate innings aren't foolproof, because pitch-tracking data hasn't always been as good as it is now.
But there have almost certainly been fewer than 150 in the history of Major League Baseball.
Kittredge can add his name to that list, and Cubs fans will probably be a bit fonder of him now that he just pulled off such a special feat. It's hard to have a better bounceback outing than this one, especially in a key spot with Chicago up just 2-0.
That's great trust in the new guy from manager Craig Counsell, it's a great job by Kittredge to deliver under pressure.
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