Max Scherzer moves to 10th on all-time strikeout list, officially passing Walter Johnson

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer has moved to 10th on the all-time strikeout list, officially passing Walter Johnson.

Scherzer achieved the feat by getting Kyle Schwarber to strike out looking in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was his fourth punchout of the game. Unfortunately, Trae Turner and Bryce Harper followed it up with a solo home run apiece, which forced Toronto to go to the bullpen.

The veteran starting pitcher entered the day with 3,512 career strikeouts, only three behind tying Johnson. Scherzer struck out Harper in the first inning, Garrett Stubbs in the third inning, and then Bryan De La Cruz in the fifth inning to tie the Hall of Famer.

Scherzer has the second-most strikeouts among active pitchers. He trails only Justin Verlander, who has 3,554. The veteran Verlander has already indicated that this will be his final season.

The Blue Jays pitcher will now set his sights on Gaylord Perry, who had 3,534 strikeouts. With Scherzer finishing Saturday night’s game with 5,316, he only needs 19 strikeouts to move into sole possession of ninth-place all-time.

There was a little bit of disagreement around when Scherzer surpassed Johnson. The Hall of Famer is consistently publicly credited with 5,309 strikeouts, but there are noted discrepancies with the statistical record-keeping of when Johnson played. He pitched for the Washington Senators from 1907 to 1927.

Elias Sports Bureau is the official statistician of MLB, and it had him at 3,515. Thus, Scherzer officially passed Johnson on Saturday night. If they were operating under the public record for Johnson having 3,509 strikeouts, Scherzer would have passed him in his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 2.

Scherzer has been in the league since 2008, when he debuted in the big leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks. His first start came against the Houston Astros on April 29, 2008. Scherzer came out of the pen in the fourth inning. His first career strikeout was of Michael Bourn, who went down looking.

Now, 492 games and 3,515 strikeouts later, Scherzer has moved into 10th place for the most strikeouts in MLB history.