Jon Lester records 2,000th career strikeout, hits first career home run on same day
The home run came on his 197th at-bat, and he's the 25th lefty with 2,000 Ks in MLB history
Cubs starting pitcher Jon Lester accomplished a couple of individual milestones in totally opposite directions on Tuesday night in Wrigley Field against the Diamondbacks.
First, he hit a home run.
.@JLester34 is hereby admitted to the #PitchersWhoRake club. pic.twitter.com/9qLSCgkHIY
— MLB (@MLB) August 2, 2017
That was the first career homer for Lester and it probably carries more weight under the circumstances. Remember, he made dubious history by not collecting a hit until his 67th at-bat, an MLB record. The above home run comes in his 197th career at-bat, 236th plate appearance and 12th season in the majors.
Further, he has now won whatever the wager was between himself and teammate John Lackey (the Chicago Tribune has the details for those interested).
A bit later, Lester recorded his ninth strikeout of the night, which was good for the 2,000th in his career.
Lester becomes the 25th lefty in MLB history to record 2,000 strikeouts. He's the 82nd pitcher ever. It's not something rare enough we would've covered here aside from a footnote in our nightly roundup, but with the home run it seemed fun enough.
















