Blake Snell ties AL record with 7 straight Ks to start game
SEATTLE -- Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Blake Snell tied the American League record with seven consecutive strikeouts to start a game against the Mariners on Sunday.
Snell matched the mark set by Joe Cowley of the White Sox on May 28, 1986, and also reached by Carlos Rodon for the White Sox on Sept. 30, 2016.
The Modern Era major league record is eight straight strikeouts to start a game, set by Jim Deshaies for Houston in 1986 and matched by Jacob deGrom of the Mets in 2014. Snell also tied a club record for most consecutive strikeouts at any point during a game.
The all-time record is nine strikeouts to start a game, set by Mickey Welch for the New York Gothams in 1884.
Snell struck out the side in the first two innings on swinging strikes, and tied the record with a called strike three on Guillermo Heredia to open the third.
Denard Span, the Mariners' eighth batter, worked the count full before grounding out to second to end Snell's strikeout streak. Snell struck out Mike Zunino to end the third inning for his eighth strikeout of the game.
Snell has 11 strikeouts through the first five innings.
ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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