NEW YORK — Statistically speaking, no one has been as dominant as Jacob deGrom to start a career.
In fanning seven of the first 10 batters he faced Sunday at Citi Field, deGrom passed Yu Darvish for the most strikeouts by a pitcher through 200 career games. Darvish struck out 1,517 in his first 200 outings. deGrom not only passed him but continued tacking onto his total throughout Sunday’s game against the Braves.
Looking like his dominant self in the first inning, deGrom fanned a pair, including Matt Olson on a 102-mph fastball and Austin Riley on a 96-mph slider. He struck out two more in the second inning, two more in the third and another two in the fourth to top Darvish’s record.
That gave deGrom 14 strikeouts in nine innings since returning from the injured list. He missed the entire first half of the season due to a stress reaction in his right scapula.
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