After allowing a leadoff double in the bottom of the first inning on Monday night, Gerrit Cole buckled down with history on the line.
Striking out the next three batters he faced, Cole became the first pitcher in baseball history to strikeout 59 batters without issuing a single walk.
The ace went on to strikeout two more batters before walking Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo with one out in the third inning. That puts the record at 61 strikeouts, a mark that will certainly be a challenge to beat.
The record-setting stretch for Cole began way back on April 12, early in his third outing of the season. Cole walked Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to start the second inning, his third walk of the season.
From that point on, Cole locked in on his command. Over his next five starts, including an additional seven punch outs in that game against the Blue Jays, Cole struck out 56 without a single walk.
The previous record for strikeouts without a walk was also set in 2021. Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes began his season with 58 strikeouts and no walks. That streak came to an end last week for Burnes.
Cole has been excelling in far more than just the strikeout-to-walk department. Entering play on Monday, the right-hander leads the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (26.00), walks per nine innings pitched (0.51), he's second in WHIP (0.68) and third in both strikeouts (78) and ERA (1.37). He's also tied for third in wins (five) and ranks fifth in strikeouts per nine (13.33).
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