Chad Green tosses Yankees’ second immaculate inning of 2021 in Game 2 vs. Mets

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The Yankees had six “immaculate innings” – nine pitches, nine strikes, three outs – in franchise history entering this season…and now they have two in the first 83 games of 2021.

Chad Green threw 35 pitches in the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Mets in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader, and the last nine were all strikes – nine pitches, nine strikes in the seventh, the second immaculate inning of the year for the Bombers.

“I didn’t know that; I think Lucas (Luetge) mentioned it to me right after the game, but yeah, that’s pretty cool,” Green said after the game. “I thought I threw four pitches to one guy, but I guess not, so yeah, that’s cool.”

Green got one out in Game 1 and had thrown two perfect innings of relief in Game 2, but with a 4-2 lead, Aaron Boone had a decision to make: stick with Green, go to beleaguered closer Aroldis Chapman (who blew a save in Game 1) or go to Wandy Peralta, who was warming up.

“Ultimately it’s his decision, but as soon as he asked, I said I was good to go, and we just left it at that,” Green said after the game. “I think being able to land the breaking ball behind in the count got me back into counts, and I was able to get some quick outs to keep the pitch count down, so I was ready.”

Green proved his skipped prophetic, as he fanned Michael Conforto, pinch-hitter Jeff McNeil, and Jonathan Villar on three pitches each, the last two swinging. Four foul balls, two called strikes, and three swinging, and Green had the second immaculate inning of the year, following Michael King’s exactly one month earlier, in the fourth inning of a Yankees-Red Sox game on June 4.

It’s also the third in MLB this season, as Washington’s Kyle Finnegan tossed the first in the sixth inning of a Nats-Braves game on May 5.

A nice end to a rough week at the Stadium, where the Yankees lost four of six to the Angels and Mets but will head to Seattle on a winning note.

“Definitely when we go into an off day, you don’t want a sour taste in your mouth,” Green said. “We came up short in Game 1, so it makes sleeping a little easier tonight. We still have work to do, but we’ll reset tomorrow and get set to play on Tuesday.”

Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN

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