Max Scherzer took the mound on Monday night as the New York Mets opened up a brief two-game Subway Series with the New York Yankees.
It wasn’t his best outing by any stretch, as he allowed four runs, but he did go 6.2 innings and struck out three batters while walking just one.
The Yankees won by a final of 4-2.
But Scherzer achieved an important milestone with his first strikeout of the night.
He had been tied with Hall-of-Famer Pedro Martinez for 13th on the all-time strikeouts list with 3,154.
His first strikeout last night broke that tie and put him in sole possession of 13th place on the all-time list.
Scherzer now has a total of 3,157 strikeouts over his storied career.
Mad Max Makes History
Even when he doesn’t have his best outing, Scherzer finds a way to get the job done, and he made a little history last night, passing a fellow Mets legend on the strikeouts list.
Scherzer ultimately took the loss, as he dropped to 9-3 on the season and his ERA rose to 2.33.
But he still kept the Mets in the game, and he continued to show why he is a strikeout machine.
Scherzer invokes fear every time he pitches.
He isn’t afraid to pound the zone or even brush a hitter off if he’s too deep in the box.
Scherzer is a fierce competitor and will always give his team a chance to win when he pitches.
His high-octane fastball can still blow hitters away as he continues to rack up strikeouts and pitch with that trademark intensity that can only be compared to greats such as Bob Gibson, Roger Clemens, and Chris Carpenter.
We’ll see what milestone comes next for Mad Max.
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