List of Major League Baseball single-game strikeout leaders

[1] Twenty different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in a single nine-inning Major League Baseball (MLB) game,[a] the most recent being Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals on May 11, 2016.

[5] In spite of this, Bob Feller is viewed as the first pitcher to accomplish the feat,[6][7] since his then-record 18 strikeouts was the first to occur during the 20th century and the live-ball era.

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.

[10][11] 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.

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Bob Feller was the first player to achieve 18 strikeouts in a game during the live-ball era .
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Sandy Koufax was the first pitcher to achieve multiple games with 18 strikeouts, recording two in his career.
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Kerry Wood tied Roger Clemens' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game on May 6, 1998.
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Max Scherzer tied Kerry Wood and Roger Clemens' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game in 2016.
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Nolan Ryan amassed 18 or more strikeouts in a nine-inning game twice, as well as 19 strikeouts in extra-inning games three times.