For a franchise with a pitching history as illustrious as the Twins, it’s hard to believe there were any pitching feats not previously accomplished. But Taj Bradley did something on Tuesday night that it is believed no Minnesota pitcher had ever done before.
Facing the 8-9-1 hitters in the Athletics’ order in the bottom of the fifth, Bradley threw what is believed to be the first immaculate inning in Twins history, striking out three batters on nine pitches.
He got Carlos Cortes swinging on a 92.3 mph 0-2 splitter down out of the zone. Then with another 0-2 count, he got Brian Serven to chase a curveball. And he finished off the feat against leadoff man Henry Bolte, getting a called strike on a perfectly located 0-2 fastball, 99.8 mph at the very bottom of the strike zone.
They were the seventh, eighth, and ninth strikeouts of the game for Bradley.