Brewers' Corbin Burnes has record end at 58 strikeouts before first walk
All good things must come to an end.
Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Corbin Burnes set and then extended the record for most strikeouts without issuing a single walk to start a season during Thursday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, and he was at 58 strikeouts when he finally walked a batter in the top of the fifth inning:
Kenley Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers set the previous mark of 51 strikeouts without a walk to start a season in 2017.
Even worse for Burnes than his record coming up just shy of 60 strikeouts without a walk was that he fell to 2-3 on the season via the 2-0 defeat. The 26-year-old now has a 1.57 ERA on the campaign.
"It was pretty cool," Burnes said of hearing the crowd's ovation after he broke the record, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "Whenever you get them standing behind you like that, cheering you on, it definitely gives you some chills. Was a cool moment to do it at home."
Despite the loss, Burnes now also holds the record for most strikeouts without a walk at any point of a season. New York Yankees starter Gerrit Cole currently has an active streak of 56 strikeouts without a walk and can pass Burnes on the list the next time he takes the bump.
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