List of Major League Baseball single-game strikeout leaders

Template:Multiple image In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Twenty different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in a single nine-inning Major League Baseball (MLB) game,<ref group="lower-alpha">18 strikeouts is utilized as the benchmark as that is normally two-thirds of a nine-inning game's 27 outs (while uncommon, a pitcher can record a strikeout that does not result in an out due to the uncaught third strike rule).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref></ref> the most recent being Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals on May 11, 2016.<ref name="Scherzer">Template:Cite news</ref> Four players have accomplished the feat more than once in their career; no player has ever struck out more than 20 batters in a nine-inning game. Charlie Sweeney was the first player to strike out 18 batters in a single game, doing so for the Providence Grays against the Boston Beaneaters on June 7, 1884.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In spite of this, Bob Feller is viewed as the first pitcher to accomplish the feat,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> since his then-record 18 strikeouts was the first to occur during the 20th century and the live-ball era.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Out of the 20 pitchers who have accomplished the feat, 15 were right-handed and five pitched left-handed. Five of these players have played for only one major league team. Six pitchers—Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Max Scherzer—are also members of the 3,000 strikeout club. Sweeney has the fewest career strikeouts in the group with 505, while Nolan Ryan, with 5,714, struck out more batters than any other pitcher in major league history.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Bill Gullickson and Kerry Wood are the only rookies to have achieved the feat.<ref name=gullicksonref/><ref name=woodref/> Tom Seaver concluded his milestone game by striking out the final ten batters he faced, setting a new major league record for most consecutive strikeouts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Of the eleven players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have struck out 18 batters in a game, six have been elected; all six were elected on the first ballot.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 major league seasons and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Players

Bob Feller was the first player to achieve 18 strikeouts in a game during the 20th century.

Sandy Koufax was the first pitcher to achieve multiple games with 18 strikeouts, recording two in his career.

Kerry Wood tied Roger Clemens' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game on May 6, 1998.

Max Scherzer tied Kerry Wood and Roger Clemens' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game in 2016.

Key

Pitcher	Name of the pitcher
Date	Date of the game
Team	The pitcher's team
Opposing team	The team against whom the pitcher struck out 18 players
Score	Final score of the game, with the pitcher's team score listed first
Strikeouts	Number of strikeouts the pitcher recorded
Career Ks	Career strikeouts
Template:Dagger	Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
*	Player is active
Template:Double-dagger	Indicates the player's team lost the game

MLB pitchers with 18 strikeouts in a nine-inning game

MLB pitchers with 18 strikeouts in a nine-inning game (sorted by number of strikeouts, then chronologically)

Pitcher	Date	Team	Opposing team	Score	Strikeouts	Career Ks	Refs
Template:Sortname*	Template:Dts	Washington Nationals	Detroit Tigers	3–2	20	3,407	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Scherzer" />
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Chicago Cubs	Houston Astros	2–0		1,582	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Boston Red Sox	Detroit Tigers	4–0		4,672	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="clemensref">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Dts		Seattle Mariners	3–1		4,672	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	Seattle Mariners	Chicago White Sox	5–0	19	4,875	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="johnsonref">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Dts		Oakland Athletics	1–4Template:Double-dagger		4,875	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	New York Mets	Philadelphia Phillies	7–0		2,668	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	California Angels	Boston Red Sox	4–2		5,714	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ryanref">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	New York Mets	San Diego Padres	2–1		3,640	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1" />
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	St. Louis Cardinals	New York Mets	3–4Template:Double-dagger		4,136	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Chicago Browns	Boston Reds	10–4		846	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Providence Grays	Boston Beaneaters	2–1		505	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Cleveland Indians	St. Louis Cardinals	2–0	18	1,725	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Milwaukee Brewers	Atlanta Braves	4–1		1,325	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Toronto Blue Jays	Kansas City Royals	3–0		4,672	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	Seattle Mariners	Texas Rangers	2–3Template:Double-dagger		4,875	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Los Angeles Dodgers	Atlanta Braves	6–0		1,427	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Montreal Expos	Chicago Cubs	4–2		1,279	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	New York Yankees	California Angels	4–0		1,778	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	California Angels	Chicago White Sox	3–2		5,714	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Houston Astros	Cincinnati Reds	6–1		1,283	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	Los Angeles Dodgers	Chicago Cubs	10–2		2,396	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="koufaxref">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Dts		San Francisco Giants	5–2		2,396	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	Cleveland Indians	Detroit Tigers	1–4Template:Double-dagger		2,581	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Milwaukee Brewers	Boston Reds	4–5Template:Double-dagger		659	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Boston Reds	St. Louis Maroons	0–1Template:Double-dagger		950	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

18 strikeouts in extra-inning games

Nolan Ryan amassed 18 or more strikeouts in a nine-inning game twice, as well as 19 strikeouts in extra-inning games three times.

Eight different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in an extra-inning Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date. Only Nolan Ryan accomplished the feat more than once in his career and no player has ever struck out more than 21 batters in a game.

The following list is kept separate from the above list of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning game. This is due to the differing number of innings pitched during an extra-inning game, the lack of a definitive endpoint to the game that would otherwise allow for a fair comparison to be made, and the advantage of having more opportunities to strike out players during an extra-inning game as opposed to one lasting nine innings.

Key

IP	Innings pitched by the pitcher in the game

MLB pitchers with 18 strikeouts in an extra-inning game

Pitcher	Date	Team	Opposing team	Score	Strikeouts	IP	Career Ks	Refs
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Washington Senators	Baltimore Orioles	2–1	21	16	345	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	Arizona Diamondbacks	Cincinnati Reds	4–3	20	9<ref group="lower-alpha">Although the game went into extra innings (11 total), Johnson was relieved by Byung-hyun Kim after nine innings.<ref name="johnsoneigame" /></ref>	4,875	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Cleveland Indians	Minnesota Twins	1–0	19	10	2,416	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	California Angels	Boston Red Sox	4–3		13	5,714	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Dts		Detroit Tigers	0–1Template:Double-dagger		11	5,714	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Template:Dts		Toronto Blue Jays	2–1		10	5,714	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Philadelphia Athletics	Boston Americans	4-1	18	24	1,052	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:SortnameTemplate:Dagger	Template:Dts	Boston Braves	Chicago Cubs	1–3Template:Double-dagger		15	2,583	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Philadelphia Phillies	New York Mets	0–0		15	1,629	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Sortname	Template:Dts	Cincinnati Reds	New York Mets	0–1Template:Double-dagger		11	1,605	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
• List of Major League Baseball pitchers who have thrown an immaculate inning
• List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders

External links

• Top Individual Performances – List Template:Webarchive Retrosheet (scroll down)