The ‘endangered’ 300-strikeout pitcher is four years away from becoming a reality.
Atlanta Braves right-handed fireballer Spencer Strider, 24, is 10 strikeouts away from taking sole possession of that honor.
Strider started the Braves’ home game against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday (July 27) at Triple Crown Park and pitched seven strong innings, striking out 10 and allowing one run on three hits to earn the win in a 4-1 victory.
Strider, who improved to 9-2 on the season with a 3.73 ERA, upped his strikeout total to 146. Second overall is Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays with 127, followed by Pablo Lopez of the Minnesota Twins (120) and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels (117). Strider is dominating카지노사이트.
Strider is averaging 14.33 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9) and a 38.9% strikeout-to-walk ratio. He leads the league in both categories. He’s the best “Dr. K” in the game.
In an era of increasing bullpen reliance and the disappearance of complete game pitchers, 300 strikeouts in a season is no small feat. Even if you average 11 strikeouts per nine innings, you’d need to pitch 245 innings a season. Even if you pitch seven innings, that’s 35 starts. Nowadays, unless you’re an ace, it’s rare to see a pitcher go six innings, let alone seven. As a result, the only way to reach 300 strikeouts is to increase your strikeout rate.
This is where Strider is at the top of his game. He’s already demonstrated his strikeout prowess by throwing 131⅔ innings in 31 games (20 starts) last year, striking out 202 batters. He averaged 13.81 strikeouts per nine innings, a number that has only increased this season.
The last 300-strikeout pitchers in the major leagues were Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros in 2019. Cole struck out 326 batters in 212⅓ innings over 33 games, and Verlander struck out 300 batters in 223 innings over 34 games. It was a season in which Cole averaged 13.82 strikeouts per nine innings and Verlander 12.11.
The all-time season high for K/9 is 14.20 by Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2020, a 60-game shortened season. In a 162-game season, Cole’s 2019 mark is the best. Strider surpasses both pitchers.
Strider threw just 100 pitches on the day. As expected from a hard-throwing pitcher, he threw more than half of his pitches (54) with his four-seam fastball, mixing in sliders (32) and changeups (14). His fastball topped out at 99.5 mph and averaged 97.6 mph.
After working out of runners at first and second on a leadoff single and a walk in the first inning, Strider gave up a run in the bottom of the second when he threw a low 97.6 mph fastball to Joey Gallo for a solo home run in center field. Gallo, who went for it rather than throwing it, made a good catch.
However, he was able to get out of the inning without allowing another run. He allowed one hit and two walks in the third inning, retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings with two strikeouts each, walked one in the sixth, and struck out one in the seventh. He used six sliders and four fastballs for strikes.
With 146 strikeouts in 91⅔ innings in 16 games, Strider is on pace for 303 strikeouts if he maintains the same pace with more than half the regular season remaining.
Meanwhile, Atlanta tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning on a Travis d’Arnaud groundout with runners on first and third, then took a 4-1 lead in the seventh on a solo home run by Marcell Osuna and a two-run shot to left-center field by Ronald Acuna Jr. With 17 homers and 35 RBIs on the season, Acuna Jr. is chasing the first 30-homer, 70-RBI season in franchise history.