Miami Marlins right-hander Pablo Lopez set a major league record on Sunday by striking out the first nine Atlanta Braves.
The previous record of eight straight strikeouts to start a game was shared by German Marquez of the Colorado Rockies in 2018, Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets in 2014 and Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros in 1986.
The record for most consecutive strikeouts at any point in a game is 10, set by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver of the New York Mets in 1970 and matched by the Philadelphia Phillies’ Aaron Nola last month.
Pablo Lopez saw his streak snapped when Atlanta right fielder Ehire Adrianza led off the fourth inning with a groundout to first base.
Lopez, 25, only lasted one pitch in his previous start. He was ejected after hitting Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. with the first pitch of the game on Friday.
The Venezuela native, in his fourth season with Miami, entered Sunday’s contest with a 4-5 record and a 2.94 ERA with 102 strikeouts in 95 innings. For his career, Lopez has posted a 17-21 record with a 4.02 ERA. He’s obviously in the midst of a career season.
As for the game itself, those nine strikeouts were all that Pablo Lopez recorded before exiting after six strong innings — yielding five hits and three runs for a Marlins team that closed out the first half of the season with a win over the division-rival Braves.
(Field Level Media contributed to this report)