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Felix Hernandez passes Nolan Ryan in strikeouts before age of 30

Kim Klement / USA TODAY Sports

Seattle Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez passed a strikeout legend on Monday, fanning his 2,088th career batter against the Colorado Rockies.

Hernandez, 29, passed Nolan Ryan for fourth all-time in strikeouts by a pitcher before the age of 30 when he struck out D.J. LeMahieu in the bottom of the fifth inning. Hernandez fanned LeMahieu in each of his first three at-bats.

Ryan currently holds the MLB record with 5,714 career strikeouts.

The Mariners superstar trails only Bert Blyleven (2,250), Sam McDowell (2,271), and Walter Johnson (2,305) on the strikeouts-before-30 list.

In 2015, he sits in the top 10 in strikeouts in the American League, with 131 coming into Monday's contest.

Hernandez will turn 30 on April 8 of next year.

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