Rangers' Jacob deGrom joins exclusive club with latest milestone

After only recording three strikeouts in a loss in his last start, Jacob deGrom was looking to bounce back when on the mound on Thursday night when the Texas Rangers hosted the Washington Nationals. He also entered the game just shy of reaching a major career milestone. 

Getting the milestone out of the way early, deGrom's second strikeout of the game was the 2,000th strikeout of his career. 

Jacob deGrom reached, exceeded career strikeout No. 2,000 

Washington designated hitter Abimelec Ortiz became the victim of the moment when he went down swinging in the bottom of the first inning, making deGrom the ninth active pitcher to achieve 2,000+ strikeouts. 

Making history, deGrom owns the distinction as the second fastest to get to the mark, doing it in 1,661 innings, trailing only Chris Sale's 1,626. 

deGrom matched his season-high in strikeouts 

deGrom, 38, would leave the game after six innings with 2,008, having recorded his third double-digit strikeout game of the season and having matched his 2026-high with 10. He would earn the win as the Rangers beat Washington 2-0. 

His last 10-strikeout game was back on May 10, although he did register nine two starts ago on Aug, 8. He also only allowed one hit and one walk against the Nationals.