Cleveland Indians’ starting pitcher Shane Bieber helped his team to a 2-0 win over Minnesota Twins on Thursday night while also managing to tie the 66-year-old MLB record.
Bieber shut down 13 Minnesota’s batters on Thursday, giving him 27 strikeouts in two games he started in 2020. With this, the 25-year-old player tied the MLB record for most strikeouts in the first two starts of the season, previously held by Brooklyn Dodgers’ Karl Spooner who did this feat in 1954.
Bieber also became the first American League pitcher to have consecutive starts with 13 strikeouts and zero runs allowed.
“I’ve never been that much of a punch-out pitcher, especially coming up through the minors,” said Bieber after the game. “The book on me was pitch to contact, this and that. I’ve made some adjustments the past couple years and started to see some swings and misses.”
Shane Bieber had his MLB debut with Indians in 2018, playing 20 games and posting 4.55 ERA and 118 strikeouts in his first season in the majors. Bieber followed that up with an All-Star campaign in 2019, when he had 3.28 ERA, 259 strikeouts and 15-8 record.
