Corbin Burnes flirts with Milwaukee Brewers strikeout record; here are the top performances in club history
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Corbin Burnes posted 14 strikeouts on Sept. 8 in a dazzling eight-inning performance, and he had that strikeout total with just one out in the seventh, no less. It meant he was threatening Ben Sheets' single-game strikeout record, set in 2004 when he punched out 18 Atlanta Braves.
Burnes came into the night with 200 strikeouts, one shy of San Francisco's Carlos Rodón for the National League lead. Even though Burnes won't figure into the National League Cy Young Award conversation after winning the award last year, he remains one of the game's best pitchers.
The thing is, 14 isn't even his best — he had a whopping 15 last year against the Chicago Cubs. In that game, he became the third player in Major League Baseball history to strike out 10 straight batters.
Here's the list of top strikeout performances by Brewers pitchers.
18 — Ben Sheets (May 16, 2004 vs. Atlanta)
In a legendary afternoon game against the Braves, Sheets allowed one earned run on three hits in a 4-1 win at Miller Park. The 25-year-old also walked one batter and was on the cusp of his best season.
15 — Corbin Burnes (Aug. 11, 2021 at Chicago Cubs)
Part of a Cy Young season, the Brewers won easily, 10-0, and Burnes threw eight glorious innings at Wrigley Field, with four hits, no walks and the aforementioned 10 consecutive batters struck out.
14 — Corbin Burnes (Sept. 11, 2021 at Cleveland)
You surely remember this one. Burnes worked eight innings and did not allow a hit, with one walk, and Josh Hader closed the ninth for the second no-hitter in franchise history.
14 — Mike Fiers (Aug. 14, 2014 at Chicago Cubs)
What's amazing is that Fiers turned the feat in six innings — not even Burnes had reached that threshold against the Giants. Fiers allowed three hits and one walk but struck out 14 of the 22 batters he faced, and the Brewers went on to win, 6-2.
14 — Yovani Gallardo (July 15, 2012 vs. Pittsburgh)
Working seven frames, Gallardo allowed a home run and four hits but no walks and 14 punchouts as the Brewers handled Pittsburgh, 4-1.
14 — Moose Haas (April 12, 1978 vs. New York Yankees)
Mike Caldwell has the reputation as the Yankee Killer that season, but Haas had his day too, logging 14 punchouts at County Stadium in a 5-3 win with what was then a club record (that stood for more than a quarter century). Haas went all nine innings and allowed three walks, two home runs and five hits total, but it was good enough.
14 — Corbin Burnes (Sept. 8, 2022 vs. San Francisco)
Burnes allowed consecutive hits to yield a run in the third but only faced one more batter over the minimum in eight excellent innings, needing only 100 pitches to record 14 punchouts.
The club has seen a 13-strikeout performance 11 times, including once from Burnes on June 6, 2021, against Arizona.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Best Brewers single-game strikeout performances in team history