Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes tied the major league record on Wednesday night with 10 consecutive strikeouts of his Cubs' opponents. He didn't strike anyone out in the first inning, but then struck out the side in the second, third and fourth innings before striking out Frank Schwindel in the fifth to tie the record. Then Matt Duffy followed with a line drive single to break it up.
Burnes ties Tom Seaver (April 22, 1970) and Aaron Nola (June 25), as the only pitchers to ever strike out 10 straight hitters in the same game.
Burnes was spotted a seven-run lead before he even took the mound, with the Brewers' offense jumping all over Cubs starter Jake Arrieta. Burnes took the run support and ran with it. He allowed a single to start the game, but got out of the inning after inducing a double play. As noted, the next 10 batters he faced all struck out. After Duffy's single, Burnes recorded his 11th strikeout. He added a 12th in the sixth inning.
Burnes was heavily reliant on his stellar cutter, but also beautifully mixed in his curve and change to make the Cubs' hitters look silly. Here are the visuals:
This marks Burnes' sixth start with double digits in strikeouts this season and the 10th time in his career. His career-high for a game is 13, which he did on June 6 of this year.
Behind three aces -- Burnes and fellow All-Stars Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff -- the Brewers entered Wednesday night with a seven-game lead in the NL Central.
