Former Ole Miss pitcher Lance Lynn joined historic company on Tuesday when he recorded his 2,000th strikeout as a professional.
Lynn, the 89th pitcher in MLB history to achieve the feat, entered the St. Louis Cardinals’ matchup against the Pittsburgh Pirates with 1,998 career strikeouts. Over five scoreless innings, the righty fanned a pair to hit the magic number.
Number 2000 for Lance Lynn! pic.twitter.com/B9oKHa8geu
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) July 23, 2024
After striking out Nick Gonzales in the third inning, Lynn got Jared Triolo swinging on a fastball to end the fourth. The only problem was St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras didn’t immediately recognize the significance of the moment and tossed the ball into the stands. A quick revelation and some successful bartering by Contreras resulted in a Pirates fan returning the milestone baseball in exchange for a bat.
To get Lance Lynn’s 2,000th strikeout ball back, Willson Contreras went to work. 😂 pic.twitter.com/osnhtfd0x1
— MLB (@MLB) July 24, 2024
Hopefully, that ball is now sitting safely somewhere and ready to find a place on Lynn’s shelves. The Cardinals won the contest 2-1 and will look to take the series on Wednesday. Lynn, in his 14th season, joins five other active players with 2,000 or more career strikeouts: Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale, and Gerrit Cole.
