When Dodgers right-hander Dylan Floro was charged with a balk in the bottom of the 10th inning in Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field, it was only the 22nd time in the 149-year history of Major League Baseball that a walk off balk had occurred, thus making it even rarer than the 23 perfect games that have ever been thrown.

During Sunday’s 12-1 shellacking of those same Mariners in the series finale, Dodgers left-hander Zac Rosscup added his name to the history books when he tossed a rare immaculate inning to end the game in front of a Safeco Field crowd of 45,491, a very large percentage of which were Dodger fans.

As most baseball fans know, an immaculate inning is when a pitcher retires the side by striking out all three batters using only nine total pitches to do so. The 30-year-old Clackamas, Oregon native, whom the Dodgers acquired on off waivers from the Colorado Rockies on July 11, struck out Kyle Seager, Ryon Healy and Cameron Maybin on nine pitches that included six sliders and three fastballs.

Although nowhere near as rare as Floro’s balk-off the night before, Rosscup’s immaculate inning on Sunday afternoon was the fourth of the 2018 MLB season and the first by a Dodger since All-Star closer Kenley Jansen did so on May 18, 2017 against the Miami Marlins at Dodger Stadium.

Rosscup is only the sixth Dodgers pitcher to throw an immaculate inning, joining Jansen, Todd Worrell, Sandy Koufax (three times), Dazzy Vance and Pat Ragan. It is the 14th time that an immaculate inning ended a nine-inning game, and the 21st time it was accomplished in the ninth inning.

Even though an immaculate inning is nowhere near as rare as a walk-off balk, Rosscup joined some pretty impressive company with his nine-pitch inning on Sunday. (Photo credit – David Zalubowski)

Ironically, Rosscup’s feat wasn’t even acknowledged be either the Dodgers or the Mariners broadcasters. But as we have all come to expect, it did not get past our friend Eric Stephen.

While taking two of three from the Mariners at their home ballpark is definitely a good thing, the Dodgers remained in third place in the NL West, with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies also winning on Sunday. Then again, it could have been a lot worse if the Dodgers hadn’t won, so there’s that.

The Dodgers returned home immediately following Sunday’s matinee series finale and will open a three-game series with the always dangerous St.Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. After an off day on Thursday, they then open a three-game weekend series with the division-rival San Diego Padres before heading back out on the road for more interleague play against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Play Ball!