Mason Miller’s immaculate inning is exactly what Padres’ bullpen needed after Jason Adam injury

It was a rough start to the week for the Padres, to say the least, as they were swept at home by the Baltimore Orioles and lost one of their best relief pitchers for the season in the process. The one bit of silver lining was that newly acquired reliever Mason Miller threw an immaculate inning in the series finale, striking out the side in just nine pitches.

Miller came over to San Diego via a trade with the Athletics, one of the blockbusters that took place during what was a chaotic deadline. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the deal, as the Padres gave up their entire farm system, including MLB’s No. 3 prospect, Leo De Vries.

Serving as the Athletics’ closer during his time with them, Mason Miller was moved to another high-leverage role after being traded to the Padres, as Robert Suarez already manned the team’s closer spot.

When he threw his immaculate inning on Thursday, he did so while throwing only one actual pitch. All nine of Miller’s pitches were sliders, meaning he got Oriole hitters to chase literally everything out of the zone. I guess that checks out, as he ranks in the top 2% in chase rate.

There have been four immaculate innings thus far in 2025, and aside from Miller, you wouldn’t be able to guess the other three. Cal Quantrill, Brandon Young, and Andrew Kittredge have all achieved this feat this year. The four became part of an exclusive group, as there have only been 116 immaculate innings in the history of the sport.

Mason Miller, proving time and time again that he can shut down the side in high-leverage situations is huge for Mike Shildt when it comes to managing the bullpen. San Diego lost Jason Adam for the season with a ruptured quad, meaning that Miller will have to step into his role. As we saw during his time with the Athletics and during his tenure so far with the Padres, it is safe to say I have no doubt that he can step up.