When Astros starter Gerrit Cole struck out the Athletics’ Matt Olson in the fourth inning on Monday, it was a bit more notable than most of his strikeouts. This was Cole’s 200th strikeout this season, making him the second-fastest in major league history to reach that mark in a season.
Cole leads the majors in both strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings and is actually on pace to set a new major league record in strikeouts per nine. He’s been on an absolute tear lately, and if he’s able to keep it going, he could become the first Astros pitcher to strike out 300 batters in a season since Mike Scott in 1986.