Scott Kazmir and Dan Straily were all about the strikeouts Wednesday.
While Straily sat down 11 Los Angeles Dodgers hitters via strikeout, Kazmir one-upped his counterpart by striking out 12 Cincinnati Reds across just six innings of work to set a season high, which fell one short of his career high.
The pair became the first to strikeout 11-plus hitters in the same game at Dodger Stadium since 1969, according to Eric Stephen of True Blue LA.
Straily, a former shoe salesman at a sporting goods store who was claimed off waivers from the San Diego Padres on April 1, tied his career high set as a member of the Oakland Athletics in 2013.
It was the third time in Kazmir's career he's struck out 12 hitters in a game, accomplishing the feat in both 2007 against the Athletics and 2013 against the Cleveland Indians.
Including Wednesday night's contest, the 32-year-old Kazmir has reached double digits in strikeouts 23 times during his 12-year career, while the lesser experienced Straily has only managed the feat twice.
Career Stats
PITCHER | GS | SO |
---|---|---|
Scott Kazmir | 281 | 1534 |
Dan Straily | 53 | 269 |
Prior to the start, Kazmir had not pitched to the expectations of a player who signed a three-year, $8-million contract in the offseason, posting an ERA of 5.23 in nine starts, but looked more like the pitcher he's capable of being in the performance.