Yomiuri Giants lefty Toshiya Sugiuchi became the 22nd pitcher in Japanese baseball history to reach 2,000 career strikeouts in a game against the Hanshin Tigers on Saturday, achieving the feat at the fastest pace ever.
Sugiuchi registered his third strikeout of the game to reach the milestone when he fanned Hiroki Uemoto in the sixth inning.
He pitched a two-hit shutout for his seventh win of the season (three losses) and had five Ks on the night to bring him to 2,002 career strikeouts.
It took Sugiuchi 1,930⅔ innings to achieve the mark, surpassing the previous record by Kazuhisa Ishii of 1,967⅔ innings with the Seibu Lions.