List of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning MLB game

Listed below are the pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning Major League game, with teams, dates and opponents:

20

* Kerry Wood, Chicago Cubs (NL), May 6, 1998, vs. Houston.
* Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox (AL), Sept. 18, 1996, at Detroit.
* Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox (AL), April 29, 1986, vs. Seattle.

19

* Randy Johnson, Seattle Mariners (AL), Aug. 8, 1997, vs. Chicago White Sox.
* Randy Johnson, Seattle Mariners (AL), June 24, 1997, vs. Oakland.
* David Cone, New York Mets (NL), Oct. 6, 1991, at Philadelphia.
* Nolan Ryan, California Angels (AL), Aug 12, 1974, vs. Boston.
* Tom Seaver, New York Mets (NL), April 22, 1970, vs. San Diego.
* Steve Carlton, St. Louis Cardinals (NL), Sept. 15, 1969, vs. New York (NL).
* Charlie Sweeney, Providence Grays (NL), June 7, 1884, at Boston Beaneaters. [ [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1884 The Chronology - 1884 | BaseballLibrary.com ] ] [ [http://www.mcfarlandbaseball.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=23&mode=&order=0&thold=0 McFarland Baseball - Publisher of Pop Culture, Scholarly Books - Before the Curse
"The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858–1918, rev. ed." ] ]
* Hugh Daily, Chicago Browns (UA), July 7, 1884, vs. Boston. [http://www.sportingnews.com/books/baseball/2007baseballrecordbook/007-095.regular.season.pdf Page 62] [ [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1884 The Chronology - 1884 | BaseballLibrary.com ] ]

18

* Ben Sheets, Milwaukee Brewers (NL), May 16, 2004, vs. Atlanta.
* Roger Clemens, Toronto Blue Jays (AL), Aug. 25, 1998, vs. Kansas City.
* Randy Johnson, Seattle Mariners (AL), Sept. 27, 1992, at Texas (8 innings).
* Ramón Martínez, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL), June 4, 1990, vs. Atlanta.
* Bill Gullickson, Montreal Expos (NL), Sept. 10, 1980, vs Chicago.
* Ron Guidry, New York Yankees (AL), June 17, 1978, vs. California.
* Nolan Ryan, California Angels (AL), Sept. 10, 1976, at Chicago.
* Don Wilson, Houston Astros (NL), July 14, 1968, at Cincinnati.
* Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL), April 24, 1962, at Chicago.
* Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers (NL), Aug. 31, 1959, vs. San Francisco.
* Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians (AL), Oct. 2, 1938, vs. Detroit.
* Henry Porter, Milwaukee Brewers (UA), Oct. 3, 1884, vs. Boston. [ [http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=l&pid=1070&bid=864 BIOPROJ.SABR.ORG :: The Baseball Biography Project ] ] [http://www.sportingnews.com/books/baseball/2007baseballrecordbook/007-095.regular.season.pdf Page 63]
* Dupee Shaw, Boston Reds (UA), July 19, 1884, vs. St. Louis Maroons. [http://www.sportingnews.com/books/baseball/2007baseballrecordbook/007-095.regular.season.pdf Page 63]

Not officially recognized

* Tom Cheney, Washington Senators (AL), September 12, 1962, at Baltimore. Cheney recorded 21 strikeouts in 16 innings of work.

* Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (NL), May 8, 2001, vs. Cincinnati. Johnson recorded all 20 strikeouts in his nine innings of work, but MLB does not recognize this as an official record because the game went into extra innings.

Notes

* The record for most strikeouts in a nine-inning game by a minor league pitcher was set by Ron Necciai, who struck out 27 batters in a Class-D game between the Appalachian League Bristol Twins and the Welsh Miners (May 13, 1952). [ [http://www.blueridgecountry.com/necciai/ Blue Ridge Country: Ron Necciai - Baseball in the Blue Ridge ] ]
* The overall record for most strikeouts in a game is 21, by Tom Cheney of the Washington Senators against the Baltimore Orioles, over 16 innings on Sept. 12, 1962 (Washington won 2-1).
* Seaver concluded his 19-strikeout performance by striking out the final ten batters he faced, setting a major league record for consecutive strikeouts.
* Steve Carlton, the first man to strike out 19 in the modern era, lost the game. Ron Swoboda struck out twice but hit a pair of two-run homers, and the Mets beat the Cardinals, 4-3. Randy Johnson also lost his first 19-strikeout game by a score of 4-1, largely due to a prodigious home run by Mark McGwire that reached the Kingdome's left field upper deck. Bob Feller lost his 18-strikeout game 4-1. In the 19th century, both Dupee Shaw and Henry Porter lost 18-strikeout games.
* Kerry Wood was only 20 when he struck out 20 batters, making him only the second pitcher to "strike out his age". On 13 September 1936, the Indians' Bob Feller, then only 17 years old, struck out 17 in a game, defeating the A's 5-2.
* Neither Clemens, Johnson, nor Wood walked a batter during their 20-strikeout performances.
* Gullickson and Wood were rookies. Wood was also the second-youngest player in the Major Leagues at the time of his performance.

ee also

*Strikeout
*List of rare baseball events

References and external links

* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/MISC/XOP.htm List] at Retrosheet (scroll down)
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_8_63/ai_n6108385/pg_1 List] of pitchers who have 15 K or more in a game, through May 2004