Justin Verlander further immortalized himself in baseball lore Saturday.
The Astros righty struck out his 3,000th batter against the Angels when he rung up Kole Calhoun in the fourth inning.
DOMINANT.@JustinVerlander becomes the 18th member of the 3,000 strikeout club! pic.twitter.com/B8oVjKpxwV
— MLB (@MLB) September 29, 2019
Verlander becomes just the 18th pitcher all-time to strike out 3,000 batters.
He is a ways back from Nolan Ryan, who is first all-time with 5,714. It will take a few extra years for the 36-year-old to get there.
Now, Verlander will try to join the 300-strikeout club as well. His 3,000th K was also his 294th of the season.
.@JustinVerlander becomes the 18th member of the 3,000 strikeout club. Only 3 pitchers in history did it in fewer innings. pic.twitter.com/ugzBZ6d8q8
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) September 29, 2019
If he is to get to 300 on the year, he and teammate Gerrit Cole would be the first pair of teammates to strike out 300 batters in a season since Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling (Diamondbacks, 2002) to accomplish that feat.
They would be just the second pair to do that ever.