WASHINGTON — Chalk up another milestone for Max Scherzer.
The Washington Nationals ace recorded his 300th strikeout of the season Tuesday night. The landmark whiff came in the top of the seventh inning, when Scherzer got Miami Marlins rookie Austin Dean swinging on a 3-2 slider that ended a 10-pitch at-bat.
He became the 17th pitcher since 1900 to fan 300 batters in a season, and the fifth hurler since 2000, joining Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale. Prior to this year, Scherzer’s career high was 284 strikeouts, set during a 2016 campaign in which he tied a major league record by fanning 20 Detroit Tigers in a single start.
He finished Tuesday’s start with 10 strikeouts total, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings.
His 300 strikeouts are the most in the National League, and 41 more than New York Mets righty Jacob deGrom.
Scherzer, 34, is the oldest pitcher in the Modern Era to record his first 300-strikeout season, based on age at the end of the season. The prior oldest at the end of his first career 300-strikeout season in the Modern Era was Mike Scott, who was 31 in 1986.
Scherzer is also vying to win his third straight Cy Young Award. He’s considered one of three main contenders, along with deGrom and Aaron Nola of the Phillies. Although Scherzer (17-7) and Nola (16-6) hold a wide lead over deGrom (9-9) in wins, the Mets ace leads the NL with a 1.77 ERA entering his final start Wednesday — that’s over a half-run lower than anyone else’s.
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.