Michael Soroka Makes Franchise History in Elite Diamondbacks Debut

Right-hander Michael Soroka has made just one start for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he's already etched his name into the franchise record books.

On Monday, in the midst of an excellent five-scoreless-inning start, Arizona's newest starter fired an immaculate inning — an inning in which a pitcher retires the side with nine strikes — in his final frame of work, punching out Tigers hitters Javier Baez, Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres without throwing a ball.

It was just the fourth immaculate inning in D-backs history, with the most recent coming in 2012, by right-hander Wade Miley. Randy Johnson (2001) and Byung-hyun Kim (2002) delivered the other two.

"It was pretty special," Soroka said postgame. "Obviously, I think I've talked to you guys about not putting too much stock in results, but I think that's one that's worth celebrating. I think it's something I wasn't really aware of until the last pitch."

"I tried to play it off, but started smiling off the field," he said.

Manager Torey Lovullo said it was the first immaculate inning he had seen up close.

"He really started to dial it in later in his outing," the manager said. "[Soroka] did a really nice job of making pitches when he had to."

It did not look like a dominant start early on. Soroka allowed four base hits and one walk through three innings, and was being hit relatively hard.

And then, the right-hander settled in to retire the final eight batters he faced, striking out six of them. He finished with 10 strikeouts, which matched a career-high. It was also the highest strikeout total by a starting pitcher in his D-backs debut, surpassing Randy Johnson's nine in 1999.

Soroka's fastball averaged nearly 94 MPH, but he relied on his breaking ball at the highest clip. He picked up nine whiffs and 10 called strikes on his slider-curve hybrid (called a "slurve").

"It's always been kind of my pitch," Soroka said.

"It's always been a hybrid. It's always been at its best between [a curveball and a slider]. I vary it a lot early in counts, sometimes dump one in there, a little more curveball-y. It just kind of switches up based on what I feel like the hitter looks at and where I'm feeling that day."

Beyond the stat sheets, however, Soroka is already beginning to make a looming decision even more difficult for Arizona: who moves to the bullpen when Merrill Kelly returns from the injured list.

Michael Soroka makes case to stay in Diamondbacks' rotation

Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Michael Soroka (34) pitches against the Cleveland Guardians at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale on March 1, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Soroka has stated his belief that he is more of an asset to the Diamondbacks as a starter than a reliever. Though he has positive relief experience in his past, Soroka told reporters early in spring training that he felt best-suited to pitching out of the rotation.

The Diamondbacks have five healthy starters, but will need to clear a spot for Kelly once the veteran comes back from intercostal nerve irritation that forced him off his schedule early in spring training.

The D-backs have not yet completed a full turn through the rotation, but so far, Soroka's performance has been the most statistically impressive. If he continues to display high-quality results, Soroka may force his way into a more permanent role in the D-backs' rotation.

An excess in pitching depth is never a bad problem to have. If Soroka remains a legitimate weapon every fifth day, the D-backs' rotation might be in much better shape than expected by the time Corbin Burnes makes his return.