My colleague, Adam Sanford, shared a truly incredible 2017 nugget this morning (a stat that was originally uncovered by Reddit user albanydigital):
In 2017, Craig Kimbrel pitched 9.0 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays and allowed zero hits while striking out 23.
That’s right, in the combined equivalent of one complete game against Tampa Bay, Kimbrel has allowed just one batter to reach base (a Kevin Kiermaier walk), and has struck of 23 of the 28 batters he has faced.
A no-hitter with 23 strikeouts.
Now, there’s obviously a big difference doing this in one game versus spread out over a season one inning at a time, but still, just imagine the Game Score a no-hitter with 23 strikeouts would get.