Sale reaches 300 starts, 8th in strikeouts

Chris Sale became the 31st pitcher in DMBL history to make his 300th start but more impressively, he moved into 8th place on the all-time strikeouts list.

He did it with a vintage performance, twirling a six-hit shutout while striking out 9 in a 4-0 win over Whoville.

With his 300th start, Sale matched Kevin Appier for 31st all-time. The nine strikeouts were just enough to leap past Curt Schilling (2,553) for 8th all-time in strikeouts. The shutout was also the 14th of his career, matching four other pitchers for 11th most all time (Roger Clemens, Tim Hudson, Clayton Kershaw, and Zack Wheeler).

It should continue to be a season of milestones for the Green Lake lefty, who set the season strikeout record (367) in 2018. He's likely to pass fellow lefties Al Leiter (308) and David Wells (315) in career starts and if he can stay healthy in 2026, Roy Oswalt (322) at No. 28.

Sale's first win of 2026 broke a tie with Jake Peavy (138) and his second victory was career win No. 140, moving him into a tie for No. 20 with Felix Hernandez, David Price, and Cole Hamels for 20th all-time in wins.

He may be barely in the top 30 for all-time games started but Sale is far and away the pitcher with the fewest starts among the league's top 10 all-time strikeout leaders. Pedro Martinez compiled 2,924 Ks, good for 6th all-time, in 387 starts but then there's Clemens at No. 7 with 2,732 strikeouts in 452 starts. Schilling, whom Sale just passed, made 399 career starts.