Chicago White Sox pitcher Chris Sale broke a franchise record with his 270th strikeout of the season on Friday night against the Detroit Tigers.
Sale’s record-breaking strikeout came against James McCann in the top of the second inning, passing Ed Walsh’s club mark set in 1908.
Shortly after the strikeout, the White Sox sent out a congratulatory tweet after Sale’s feat:
“It’s awesome, something that hasn’t set in yet but I know what it means, I know what it is, I’m very thankful for it,” Sale said, via Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.
The American League’s punchout leader entered the night with 267 strikeouts and got to work early, striking out Rajai Davis and Nick Castellanos to tie the record in the first inning. It’s nothing new there, as Sale also leads the AL with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Sale came into Friday night with a 12-11 record and 3.48 ERA on what appears to be a down season. He gave up a home run to Jefry Marte, one batter before McCann’s strikeout. The Detroit News‘ Chris McCosky felt like he had to remind people about Sale’s brilliance:
But playing on a White Sox team that has been out of playoff contention for some time, Sale has not had a lot of run support while pitching, ranking 15th-lowest in the majors, with just 3.74 per start, according to ESPN.
While a few more runs might have reflected a better record in 2015, there is nothing that could take away Sale’s ability to overpower opposing batters this season.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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