Braves' Chris Sale becomes fastest major league pitcher to 2,500 strikeouts
The reigning National League Cy Young winner became the fastest pitcher in major-league history to reach the 2,500-strikeout milestone, breaking the record previously held by Hall of Famer Randy Johnson.
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On his final pitch Thursday night, Sale struck out Edmundo Sosa of the Philadelphia Phillies to end the sixth inning for his 2,500th victim. The Atlanta Braves left-hander reached the milestone in 2,026 innings, besting Johnson's record of 2,107 ⅔ innings in 1999.
In doing so, Sale also became the 38th pitcher in modern history to reach the milestone.
"I appreciate it for what it is, but I try not to get too caught up in stuff like that right now," Sale said after the Braves' 9-3 win in Philadelphia. "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."
Said Braves manager Brian Snitker: "He's kind of doing Hall of Fame stuff. 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."
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Sale, who is one of the highest-paid starting pitchers this season, is 3-3 with a 3.06 ERA through 12 starts this year. Last season, he went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and led the NL with 225 strikeouts en route to his first Cy Young award. During the course of his 15-year major league career, he has struck out 200-plus batters eight times and is one of four active pitchers with 2,500-plus career strikeouts, trailing Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Sale becomes fastest MLB pitcher to 2,500 strikeouts
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