Author: News Polite

In the seventh inning of a game between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 27, 1928, Lefty Grove of the Athletics struck out Moe Berg, Tommy Thomas and Johnny Mostil using only the minimum nine pitches.

It would be 9,112 days — just short of 25 years — before another so-called immaculate inning was thrown. Though that one, courtesy of Billy Hoeft of the Detroit Tigers in 1953, also came against the White Sox.

If you thought the fates were conspiring against the White Sox because of that, consider what happened to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.

In the second inning of a game between the Houston Astros and the Rangers at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the Astros right-hander Luis Garcia recorded an immaculate inning by striking out Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran and Brad Miller with only nine pitches. Five innings later, Phil Maton, a right-handed reliever for the Astros, did the exact same thing — while facing the same three batters. They were the 106th and 107th immaculate innings in major league history.

The Astros went on to win, 9-2, as the Rangers tried to figure out what hit them.

“We obviously knew they were cruising pretty good,” Miller said of Garcia and Maton. “I wish I would have taken some better swings, and wish they didn’t get it.”

Martín Maldonado, the Houston catcher, told reporters he could not recall having ever been part of an immaculate inning at any level, let alone two in the same game.

“To be part of that, anytime you make history — I’m glad I was catching in that situation,” he said.

The two immaculate innings were a mind-boggling occurrence in multiple ways, as not only was it the first time the feat had come against the same three batters, it was the first time two such innings had been pitched on the same date, let alone in the same game.

Against Garcia, the Rangers batters managed to foul off five of his nine pitches. Two of the batters swung and missed for strike three while one went down on a foul tip caught by Maldonado. Maton was slightly more dominant, with the batters fouling off only three pitches, with the outs recorded on a foul tip, a called strike and a swinging strike.

In a fun twist, Garcia briefly kept things going in the third inning by striking out Leody Taveras on three pitches. That gave him a remarkable four strikeouts on 12 pitches.

While still rare, the immaculate inning, like no-hitters and strikeouts in general, has become far more common thanks to the all-or-nothing approach of modern hitters and pitchers.

Between 1876 and 1921, there were only three recorded instances of an immaculate inning. In the 1920s there were five, with Grove’s being the last. There weren’t any in the 1930s or the 1940s and while the next few decades saw a handful each, things took a notable turn with 17 in the 1990s and 14 in the 2000s.

Pitchers, it seems, were just getting started. There were 37 immaculate innings in the 2010s and the 2020s have already had nine despite the pandemic reducing the 2020 regular season to 60 games from 162, and 2022 being in only its third month.

Barring a major change in strategy by hitters and pitchers, the feat should continue to be a semiregular occurrence. But having it happen twice in a game, against the same three batters, is just weird enough that it could stand out for decades to come.

“That feels so good. It’s history,” Garcia told reporters. “I’m so happy for me and for Phil. I don’t know what to say. I’m just happy.”

Two U.S. veterans who volunteered to fight in Ukraine have gone missing, their families said on Wednesday.

One man was named Alex Drueke, 39, a former U.S. Army staff sergeant who served two tours in Iraq, his family said in a statement. The other was named Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, a former Marine, Darla Black, the mother of Mr. Huynh’s fiancée, Joy Black, said in a phone interview.

The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday that it was “aware of unconfirmed reports of two U.S. citizens captured in Ukraine.”

“We are closely monitoring the situation and are in contact with Ukrainian authorities,” a State Department spokesperson said. “Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment.”

It was not confirmed but seemed most likely that Mr. Drueke and Mr. Huynh had disappeared together. Mr. Drueke’s family said that at the time he was with “another volunteer soldier from the U.S.,” and Ms. Black said that the two men had become friends during the war.

Mr. Drueke’s platoon came under “heavy fire” on June 9, leading all its members to fall back — except for Mr. Drueke and the other U.S. volunteer, according to his family’s statement. Reconnaissance by foot and drone did not turn up any sign of the two soldiers, the statement continued.

“This could mean they are in hiding or it could mean they have been captured,” said Mr. Drueke’s mother, Bunny Drueke.

The two men, if captured, would be the first Americans known to have become prisoners of war during the conflict.

The Drueke family was notified of the skirmish and the search for the two missing Americans by another member of the platoon on Monday, the family’s statement said.

“When Russia invaded Ukraine, Alex immediately told me he wanted to go use his skills to train Ukrainians in how to operate American weaponry,” said Mrs. Drueke. “He isn’t married, he doesn’t have kids, and he has the training and the experience. He felt it was his duty to help defend democracy, wherever needed.”

The statement described Mr. Drueke as an avid hiker who before the war had been living on family land in rural western Alabama while hoping to plan “a new adventure” with his Mastiff rescue, Diesel.

In an interview with WAAY-TV, an ABC affiliate in northern Alabama, Mr. Huynh, who was identified as living in a small city in the region, Hartselle, and being from Orange County, Calif., said that he had decided to travel to Ukraine and fight after seeing 18-year-olds fighting for their freedom.

“I know there’s a potential of me dying,” he said. “I’m willing to give my life for what I believe is right.”

Before going to Ukraine, Mr. Huynh studied robotics at a local college that Joy also attended, Ms. Black said. He had been in the Marines for four years, entering right after graduating from high school.

“Andy didn’t make the easy choice, he made the right choice,” Joy said through sobs in a phone interview. “Andy did not go there for an adventure. He just wanted to help.”

Both the Black and Drueke families said they had last heard from the men on June 8, when each said they would be out of reach for a few days.

“Alex’s family has become our family,” Ms. Black said. “If there is anyone who understands how my daughter feels right now, its Alex’s mother, so we all feel connected.”

An Alabama congressional delegation — including Senators Richard Shelby and Tommy Tuberville, as well as Representatives Terri Sewell and Robert Aderholt, who represent the men’s districts — is coordinating with the State Department, Ms. Sewell’s chief of staff, Hilary Beard, said. A spokesperson for Gov. Kay Ivey added that the delegation was also working with the F.B.I.

Since the war began on Feb. 24, an unknown number of foreigners have volunteered to help Ukraine in various ways, among them hundreds of American military veterans who have sought to join combat. The State Department reiterated in its statement that U.S. citizens should not travel to Ukraine.

There have been no confirmed reports of Americans being captured, and only one American has been reported dead: Willy Joseph Cancel Jr., 22, a former Marine infantryman from Kentucky who was killed on April 24 or 25 when his unit was overrun by Russian troops, Mr. Cancel’s uncle, Christopher Cancel, said in an interview with The New York Times.

Western governments and human rights groups were rattled last week when a court in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan man to death, accusing them of being mercenaries.

Dave Philipps contributed reporting.