Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom reached a strikeout milestone on Thursday in a hurry, appropriately.
By fanning the first two Washington Nationals batters in Arlington, Texas, deGrom became the second-fastest pitcher to record 2,000 career strikeouts.
deGrom reached the mark in his 272nd game, leaving him behind only Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who got there in 262 games. deGrom notched strikeout No. 2,000 after 1,661 innings, trailing only Chris Sale’s 1,626 innings.
On Thursday, deGrom struck out Daylen Lile swinging to open the game, then got Abimelec Ortiz to swing through a 1-2 slider for the whiff No. 2,000.
The Rangers’ dugout stood and applauded as the scoreboard flashed a message showing deGrom’s accomplishment. deGrom, 38, doffed his cap to acknowledge the fans’ response.
The two-time Cy Young Award winner and five-time All-Star is the 95th major league pitcher to strike out 2,000 batters, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Earlier this month, Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola added his name to the list.
deGrom left the Thursday game after six shutout innings, having struck out 10 while permitting only one hit (a second-inning single) and one walk. He lowered his ERA to 3.77 through 23 starts this year.
deGrom is in his fourth season with Texas after pitching for the New York Mets from 2014-22. For his career before Thursday, deGrom had a 104-73 record with a 2.67 ERA that was the best among qualified active starting pitchers.
