Last night saw Boston Red Sox ace pitcher Chris Sale make history by becoming the fastest American League (AL) pitcher to get to 200 strikeouts in a season. It also saw MVP candidate Bryce Harper continue his hitting streak and the Los Angeles Dodgers duo of Kershaw and Wood finally lose.
Chris Sale makes history against the L.A. Angels
To end the top of the sixth inning, Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale struck out right fielder Kole Calhoun with a fastball, marking his sixth scoreless inning in a 6-2 victory last night. However, the strike out gave Sale more than the victory last night, it was his 200th strikeout of the season in only his 20th game, putting the All-Star pitcher in very select company.
Sale joined the likes of Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, and Pedro Martinez as the only pitchers to reach 200 strikeouts in 20 or fewer starts in a season.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Sale got to 200 strikeouts faster than any pitcher in American League history in a single season. In took Martinez 147 innings in 1999 and Johnson, who did it three times, 143 innings in 1995. Sale managed to get to 200 strikeouts in only 141 and-a-half innings. This season Sale has a 12-4 record with 200 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.48. He has completed at least seven innings in 15 of his 20 starts and has at least 10 strikeouts in 14 of his 20 starts.
Bryce Harper continues hitting streak despite loss
Last night Bryce Harper got one hit in his 3-at bats to extend his hitting streak since the All-Star break to 14 games. This is the longest streak of his career and the longest current active streak in baseball. However, his Washington Nationals fell to the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5.
Going into last night's game, Arizona lost 12 of their last 19 games. The Diamondbacks started the first inning with three home runs off of reigning Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. That made him only the third reigning CY Young winner to have that happen to him, joining Don Newcombe (twice in 1957) and Gaylord Perry (1973).
Dodgers lose to Braves again, Kershaw/Wood streak over
The Los Angeles Dodgers' loss last night was the first time since May 1st they had lost a game where either Clayton Kershaw or Alex Wood started. They had previously won all 25 starts that those two made. Last night's 12-3 beatdown was the first loss of the season for Wood, who is now 11-1. In their two losses to the Braves, the Dodgers allowed 18 runs in 18 innings. During their previous 11-game winning streak, they only allowed 22 runs.
