Former Tiger had no idea that he made history

A former Clemson pitcher had no idea, at first, that he had made history in Atlanta on Thursday night. Atlanta Braves righthander Spencer Strider punched out 16 batters – a new Atlanta single-game record for strikeouts – while giving up just two …

A former Clemson pitcher had no idea, at first, that he had made history in Atlanta on Thursday night.

Atlanta Braves righthander Spencer Strider punched out 16 batters β€” a new Atlanta single-game record for strikeouts β€” while giving up just two hits over eight innings in the Braves’ 3-0 win over the Colorado Rockies at Truist Park.

But it wasn’t until the former Tiger returned to the dugout after finishing the eighth inning that he found out from teammates that he had just bested an Atlanta record previously held by a Hall of Famer.

“I lost track after five (innings),” Strider said of his strikeout total. “I came out of the game, and Kyle (Wright) was telling me something about John Smoltz or whatever. I had no idea what he was talking about. It didn’t make any sense.

“And then somebody else said something, and I just kind of looked cross-eyed at him, and they were like, ‘You know what just happened?’ So, it was neat.”

The Hall of Famer Smoltz struck out 15 in a game on two occasions, once against Montreal in 1992 and another time against the New York Mets in 2005.

Following his record-setting performance, the NL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Strider now owns a 9-4 record, 2.67 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 174 strikeouts across 114.2 innings pitched.

You can watch Strider discuss his historic outing below:

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports ImagesΒ 

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