ARLINGTON, Texas -- Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom earned his 1,900th career strikeout in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, becoming the second-fastest pitcher to that milestone by games and innings.
Seiya Suzuki struck out swinging on a 91.3 mph slider to end the inning after Moisés Ballesteros swung and missed on a 98.1 mph fastball for the second out.
"Every day I'm able to put this uniform on, I'm thankful for it," deGrom said, according to MLB.com. "As a kid, it was only a dream to be able to play Major League Baseball, and to think that I might be able to accomplish really anything in this game was still just a dream. I've been very fortunate to be able to do this. So just try to keep going."
The 1,900th strikeout came in deGrom's 256th appearance, all as a starter. Hall of Famer Randy Johnson reached that mark in his 252nd game in 1997.
Johnson is second on the career strikeout list at 4,875. The left-hander was 33 when he reached 1,900; deGrom will turn 38 next month and has dealt with numerous injuries in the past five years.
After the first inning, deGrom was at 1,578â…“ for his career. Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale reached the milestone in 2019 at 1,560â…“ innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
DeGrom (3-2) finished with 10 strikeouts in Texas' 3-0 win Sunday, allowing just three hits and no walks in seven innings.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
