Stephen Strasburg breaks Nationals franchise record for strikeouts
Stephen Strasburg has now recorded more strikeouts than any pitcher in the history of the Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos franchise.
With his third strikeout of the game in the third inning Friday night against the New York Mets, Strasburg passed longtime Expos ace Steve Rogers for first on the franchise's all-time list with 1,622 career K's.
Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick by the Nationals in the 2009 MLB draft, made his big league debut in 2010 and has recorded over 150 strikeouts every season since 2012, and led the National League in the category in 2014 — when he made a career-high 34 starts — with 242. The 31-year-old also crossed the 200-strikeout plateau in 2017, and seems poised to cross it again this season barring injury (he entered play Friday night with 175 K's on the season).
“That’s a testament to how hard he works,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said of Strasburg's new record. “He’s one of the staples to this organization.”
Rogers spent his entire career in Montreal, joining the Expos in 1973 and sticking with the team until 1985. He was runner-up for Rookie of the Year and finished top-five in Cy Young voting three times.
Strasburg went seven innings Friday night, giving up four hits and three runs while striking out six. The Nationals, however, suffered a shocking 7-6 loss as Todd Frazier tied the game in the ninth inning with a three-run homer off closer Sean Doolittle, before Michael Conforto won the game with a walk-off single.
Contributing: Associated Press