1st Down: The Houston Astros made Major League Baseball history on Wednesday afternoon as they took down the Texas Rangers 9-2 at Globe Life Field. That history? Throwing not one but two immaculate innings over the course of the nine frames. The first of the two came via starter Luis Garcia in the second inning and reliever Phil Maton matched his feat- using only nine pitches to strike out the side- in the seventh. Catcher Martin Maldonado was behind the plate for both immaculate innings and also hit a homer and a two-run double in the win, so he had a superb day, to say the least. There have now been 106 immaculate innings thrown in MLB history, but this is the first time multiple ones were recorded in the same game.
2nd Down: In Los Angeles, the battle of the LA baseball teams took place on Wednesday, and we nearly got a bit of history only to see Shohei Ohtani yank the proverbial rug out from under Tyler Anderson. Anderson had pitched the whole game without surrendering a hit, but he finally did so in the bottom half of the inning when Ohtani tripled to break the run. Ohtani would later score, making the Angels’ loss a 4-1 defeat rather than a 4-0 one. With the win, the Dodgers remained in a tie with San Diego for the NL West lead.
3rd Down: Two Texas teams handled some business together on Wednesday in the NBA, with sources indicating that the Houston Rockets have shipped center Christian Wood to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a bevy of players and the #26 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. The Mavs have acquired a center that averaged just shy of 20 points and 10 rebounds last season, so they will feel they have landed another good option to surround star Luka Doncic with. Meanwhile, the Rockets made space for their #3 overall pick as well as others on the roster to get more time on the court.
4th Down: The Atlanta Braves piled another win onto their winning streak on Wednesday evening as they took down the Washington Nationals 8-2 to make it 14 consecutive wins. Austin Riley hit two home runs in the triumph in DC, and with a New York Mets loss, they have cut the deficit in the NL East to just four games. The New York Yankees also continued their winning run, taking their sixth ‘W’ in a row by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3.
