Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer enjoyed a historic outing in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers, becoming just the fourth player in major league history to strike out 20 batters in a single game, per MLB Stat of the Day.
In addition to the record-tying strikeout total, he held his former team to two runs on six hits over nine innings, with both runs coming via solo homers—one from Tigers outfielder J.D. Martinez and the other from shortstop Jose Iglesias.
Six Detroit players had multiple strikeouts, with five of those (including star first baseman Miguel Cabrera) going down by way of the K three times.
Scherzer joined Roger Clemens (twice), Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson as the only players to strike out 20 batters in a contest, also breaking Bill Gullickson’s Montreal Expos/Nationals single-game franchise record of 18 strikeouts (1980), per Sportsnet Stats.
Making his effort all the more impressive, Scherzer threw just 23 balls among his 119 pitches, easily the fewest by any pitcher in a 20-strikeout game, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Although the magical outing improved his record to 4-2, the hard-throwing righty actually hasn’t quite lived up to his usual standards so far this season, owning a 4.15 ERA and 1.17 WHIP.
Granted, he also has 66 strikeouts in 52 innings, which should allay any potential concerns.
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