Max Scherzer's climb up the all-time strikeout list continued on Sunday at Rogers Centre.
With 10 punchouts against the Seattle Mariners, Scherzer reached 3,535 for his career and moved past Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry for ninth in MLB history.
Next up on the list is Justin Verlander, who leads all active pitchers with 3,554 strikeouts of his own. Verland is currently on the injured list with the Detroit Tigers after making one start this season.
The 42-year-old Scherzer struck out Cal Raleigh in the seventh inning to reach the milestone in the best start of his two-season tenure with the Toronto Blue Jays. It marked the 115th double-digit strikeout game of his career.
Scherzer cruised through seven shutout innings of work, allowing just one hit and one walk on his way to the impressive performance. He also tossed a season-high 97 pitches and generated 17 swinging strikes — the most he has in a single start with the Blue Jays.
The veteran right-hander came out of the gate on point, striking out the side in order in the first inning, getting Seattle's first three batters to swing through strike three.
Raleigh collected the lone Mariners hit of the afternoon against Scherzer with a fourth-inning double.
Scherzer now has 46 strikeouts through 13 starts this season for the Blue Jays.
Earlier this month, Scherzer passed Walter Johnson and moved into 10th place all-time by striking out former teammate Kyle Schwarber to begin the sixth inning of an Aug. 8 win at Philadelphia.
Arizona’s first-round pick in the 2006 draft, Scherzer is an eight-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion. He debuted with the Diamondbacks in 2008 and has also pitched for Detroit, Washington, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets, and Texas.
— with files from The Associated Press
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