In a season that very well may end up with a Cy Young Award, Astros starting pitcher Gerrit Cole just put the exclamation mark on his brilliant season. Cole racked up his 300th strikeout of the season while earning his 14th consecutive win, leading Houston to a 3-2 win over the Rangers on Wednesday night.
Cole becomes the 18th pitcher in MLB history to record at least 300 strikeouts in a season. Those 18 pitchers have combined for 37 overall seasons reaching the 300-mark. Wednesday night, it was a strikeout of Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo in the sixth inning that allowed Cole to join that illustrious group, in front of his home fans at Minute Maid Park, no less.
“I don’t typically think about these things, but I did want to try to get it done tonight here in front of our fans,” Cole said after the game. “They’ve come out in large numbers all year, and they’re so much fun to play in front of. It was just a blessing to be able to get it done tonight.”
Cole, who is now 18-5 on the season, is the fourth active pitcher to reach 300 strikeouts, joining Washington’s Max Scherzer (2018), Boston’s Chris Sale (2017), and Los Angeles’ Clayton Kershaw (2015).
Furthermore, he reached double-digit strikeouts for the 19th time this season and for the seventh game in a row. The only pitchers to have at least 19 double-digit strikeout games in a season are Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Sandy Koufax, and Pedro Martinez, all of whom are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Not The Only One?
Cole may not be alone in the 300-strikeout club by the time the season ends. His teammate Justin Verlander is just 17 strikeouts away from 300, as well as 11 away from becoming the 18th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts in a career. Verlander’s quest for 300 would be the latest highlight in what has been an amazing AL Cy Young race between these two Astros.
Cole, 29, is in his second year in Houston. A first-round pick in 2011, he came up through the Pirates organization and pitched in Pittsburgh for his first few years in the majors. Then a few weeks before spring training in 2018, the World Series champion Astros traded for Cole and have been reaping the rewards since.
The Southern California-native has transformed into one the best pitchers in baseball during his time in Houston. And now after this season, which could end with his first Cy Young Award, Cole will hit the market as a free agent. Based off the season he is having and his durability throughout his career, a contract worth around $200 million definitely is not out of the question.
Until then, Cole will keep his focus on the team and winning his first World Series. With Wednesday’s win, Houston clinched another playoff berth. At 100-53, they hold an eight-game lead over the Athletics in the AL West, with their magic number to clinch at only two.
Should Houston win on Friday against the Angels and should Oakland lose to Texas, the Astros could be celebrating a division title before the weekend.
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