Atlanta Braves starter Chris Sale became the fastest pitcher to record 2,500 strikeouts in Major League history, reaching the milestone in only 2,026 innings.
With a sixth inning punch out of Phillies utility man Edmundo Sosa, Sale officially eclipsed Randy Johnson’s previous record of 2,107.2 IP. Atlanta would go on to win the game 9-3, splitting the double header with Philadelphia after their division rivals bested them 5-4 in the afternoon matchup.
“I appreciate it for what it is, but I try not to get too caught up in stuff like that right now,” Sale told reporters after the game. “I know what our job is here. And no matter whether you have a good one or a bad one, the next one is the most important one.”
The 36 year old joins Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander as the only active pitchers with at least 2,500 Ks. Overall, he’s the 40th pitcher in Major League history to reach the mark.
“He’s kind of doing Hall of Fame stuff,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Sale. “That guy is probably as big a baseball fan as anybody, just the history of the game and the competition. He’s a ballplayer, and it’s really cool to watch.”
Sale has battled a variety of injuries over the course of his 15 year MLB career. The 6’6″ lefty began his career with the Chicago White Sox before heading to Boston, and then Atlanta. An 8x All-Star, Sale underwent a brutal stretch from late 2019 through 2022 where he missed all but 11 games due to a variety of ailments.
However, he had a bounce back year in 2024 winning the NL Cy Young Award, Triple Crown, and taking home the NL Comeback Player of the Year award in the process. While Atlanta has had an up and down start to the season (the club currently sits 3rd in the NL East at 26-29), Sale has been his usual dominant self, registering a 3.06 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 67.2 IP.
Atlanta will open up a series against Sale’s former team, the Boston Red Sox, in Atlanta on Friday night at 7:15pm ET.
Photo: Thomson200. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.