Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez became the fourth-youngest pitcher in major league history to record 2,000 career strikeouts when he hit the mark during the fifth inning of Sunday’s 4-3 win over the Oakland Athletics, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).
At 29 years and 32 days, Hernandez entered Sunday’s start with 1,995 career strikeouts, needing just five more to become the 73rd player in MLB history to reach 2,000.
After striking out four batters through the game’s first four innings, King Felix caught Athletics outfielder Sam Fuld looking to start the top of the fifth.
Hernandez would later notch another strikeout on his final pitch of the game, ultimately finishing with six strikeouts over seven innings, having allowed just two runs on five hits and a walk to improve to 6-0 on the season.
His 2,001 career strikeouts are good for 72nd on the all-time list, with only Bert Blyleven, Sam McDowell and Randy Johnson reaching 2,000 at a younger age.
An early favorite for the Cy Young Award in the American League, Hernandez has a 1.85 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 50-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 48.2 innings to complement his 6-0 record through seven outings.
While a strong candidate to eventually reach 3,000 career strikeouts, the 29-year-old has yet to pitch in the postseason.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com