Indians' Kluber strikes out career-high 18 over 8 dominant innings
Cleveland Indians ace Corey Kluber finally won a game. All it took was the greatest eight-inning start in baseball history.
Kluber was in dominant form against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, becoming the first pitcher since 2004 to strike out 18 batters in a game, and the fifth to accomplish the feat without issuing a walk in 115 years.
Kluber, who lost his no-hit bid with two outs in the seventh, allowed one hit and two runners to reach base in the highest Game Score (98) recorded for an eight-inning start since at least 1914. He joins Randy Johnson (1992) as the only pitchers in MLB history to strike out 18 batters in eight innings or fewer.
"Everything (was working)," manager Terry Francona told reporters after the Indians' 2-0 win. "He elevated, he cut it, he spun it, he two-seamed it. He had everything going."
| Date | Highest GS (Fewer than 9 IP) | IP | SO | BB | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05-13-2015 | Corey Kluber | 8.0 | 18 | 0 | 98 |
| 04-02-2013 | Yu Darvish | 8.2 | 14 | 0 | 96 |
| 08-19-2007 | Johan Santana | 8.0 | 17 | 0 | 95 |
| 05-03-2014 | Jon Lester | 8.0 | 15 | 2 | 93 |
| 04-12-1989 | Nolan Ryan | 8.0 | 15 | 2 | 93 |
The Indians right-hander retired 18 straight after hitting Matt Holliday in the first inning before Jhonny Peralta lined a single up the middle to spoil his shot at history. Kluber didn't miss a beat, striking out Jason Heyward on a 90-mph slider to end the frame for his 16th punchout of the game.
(Courtesy: MLB.com)
He fanned two more batters in the eighth to match the club record for a nine-inning game shared by Hall of Famer Bob Feller, who collected 18 strikeouts on Oct. 2, 1938. Kluber, who entered the game with a record-tying seven straight winless starts by a reigning Cy Young winner, exited to a 2-0 lead after throwing 74 of his 113 pitches for strikes.
"Any time that you throw your name in there with Bob Feller," Kluber said, "that's obviously very humbling and a great accomplishment. More important is obviously getting the win."
Other notes from the historic outing include:
- Kluber struck out six consecutive batters between the third and fourth and 10 of 11 hitters overall from the third to the sixth inning
- The 18 strikeouts are the most by an AL pitcher since Roger Clemens punched out 18 for the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 25, 1998
- Kluber's Game Score of 98 matches the team record held by Dennis Eckersley (1977) and Len Barker (1981)
- His previous high for strikeouts was 14, which he accomplished twice during his award-winning 2014 season
Kluber (1-5) was unhittable from the first batter he faced Wednesday, getting Cardinals leadoff hitter Kolten Wong to swing through a 94-mph strike-three fastball to begin the outing. He induced 24 swinging strikes on the evening with five fly outs and one groundball.
The brilliant performance helps erase a rough start to the season for Kluber, who recently shaved off his beard in perhaps a foreshadowing of new beginnings. Kluber's outing lowered his ERA to 4.27 after entering the start with a bloated 5.04 mark and a streak of at least five runs allowed in four straight starts.
"I think we got a taste of why he won the Cy Young last year," Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter said. "His numbers this season don't reflect how good of a pitcher he is. He was as good, if not better, than anybody I've ever faced in the big leagues."