Chris Sale threw a very special pitch Tuesday.
On a 1-2 count to Oscar Mercado in Boston's matchup with the Indians, Sale was able to get a swinging strike on an 81-mph slider to the rookie center fielder.
That pitch marked the 2,000th strikeout of Sale's career.
That in and of itself isn't all that special. Eighty-three pitchers have now eclipsed the number, but it was the speed in which Sale did it that was remarkable.
Sale's 2,000th strikeout came on his 6,527th batter faced. That is the fastest to reach the number breaking Pedro Martinez's record of 6,834, according to Ryan M. Spaeder.
Batters faced to 2,000 career strikeouts:
— Ryan M. Spaeder (@theaceofspaeder) August 14, 2019
Chris Sale - 6,527*
Pedro Martinez - 6,834
Clayton Kershaw - 7,224
Max Scherzer - 7,277
Randy Johnson - 7,284
Nolan Ryan - 7,915
Roger Clemens - 8,796
Steve Carlton - 10,721
*fewest batters faced to 2,000 strikeouts in baseball history
Almost more impressively, he accomplished the feat in nearly 150 innings less than Martinez (1,626 to 1,771 1/3) which was also an MLB record.
Chris Sale is the fastest pitcher (1,626 IP) to record 2,000 career strikeouts, breaking @45PedroMartinez’s record of 1,771.1 IP. pic.twitter.com/CkumzdJvqg
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 14, 2019
The strikeout was Sale's 211th of the season.
This is the seventh straight season in which he has struck out at least 200 batters. And at his current K rate this season, he has a chance to once again break 300 strikeouts which would be his second time to accomplish that feat in the last three years.