The Baltimore Orioles clinched the season series over the rival New York Yankees on Sunday while setting an impressive new franchise mark.
Orioles pitching registered 18 strikeouts against the Yankees, breaking the club single-game record for a nine-inning game.
the Orioles struck out 18 batters tonight, the most in a 9-inning game in franchise history
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 31, 2023
Dean Kremer (7), Mike Baumann (1), Shintaro Fujinami (4), Danny Coulombe (3) and Yennier Cano (3) chipped into the strikeout party, helping the O's down the Yankees 9-3.
The group helped top the previous team mark, set in 1997. Hall of Famer Mike Mussina nearly posted the record by himself, recording 14 of Baltimore's 17 strikeouts in a 6-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
In their history, the Orioles have surpassed 18 strikeouts in a game twice, though, in both instances, the contests lasted 16 innings or longer. Baltimore posted 19 strikeouts against the Philadelphia Phillies in 2004 (16 innings) and 21 K's vs. the Washington Senators in 1967 (19 innings).
Sunday's win helped the Orioles top the Yankees in a season series for the first time since 2016 while improving to 21-13 against the American League East. At 64-41, Baltimore owns the best record in the AL and a 1.5-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays (64-44) for the division lead. Only the Atlanta Braves (67-36) have a better mark in all of baseball.
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