Jacob deGrom Reached 2,000 Strikeouts. Only Randy Johnson Got There Faster.

Ten strikeouts. One hit allowed. Six innings, 94 pitches. On Thursday night the Rangers beat the Nationals 2-0, and somewhere in the middle of it, at age 38, Jacob deGrom became the second pitcher in Major League history to reach 2,000 career strikeouts before his 273rd game — trailing only Randy Johnson.

deGrom needed two strikeouts walking into the start. He got them both in the first inning and kept going, finishing with 10 — a season high — while allowing just a single to Washington's Brady House and one walk over six innings. Four Rangers pitchers combined to hold the Nationals to that one hit for the night; Jacob Latz closed it out for his 25th save in 28 chances. Corey Seager's third-inning home run and a Nicky Lopez sacrifice fly were all the offense Texas needed. deGrom moved to 9-8 on the season.

The number that matters is 2,000. deGrom got there in his 272nd career start, over 1,666⅓ innings — the second-fastest path to the milestone in MLB history. Only Randy Johnson, who reached it in 262 games, got there faster. Chris Sale still holds the record for fewest innings needed. deGrom is the ninth active pitcher and the 95th player ever to cross 2,000 strikeouts — earned over a career interrupted more than once by Tommy John surgery and years lost to injury, the kind of number that reopens the question of where he ranks among the pitchers of his generation.

A Milestone Wrapped in a Near No-Hitter

The stat line reads almost like two stories at once. deGrom himself was one bloop single from a no-hit bid of his own. And the number he crossed puts him in company with one pitcher: Randy Johnson, whose perfect game is already part of the Field & Ink catalog. Two paths to the same rare air — one a single dominant afternoon, the other a 17-year career reaching one of its defining numbers on an ordinary Thursday in Arlington that turned out not to be ordinary at all.

The Whole Game, Kept

A box score tells you deGrom struck out 10 and the Rangers won 2-0. A scorecard shows you the entire outing — every strikeout, the single that broke up the combined no-hit bid, the exact at-bat where career strikeout number 2,000 landed. Field & Ink builds any MLB game from the last 100 years, including this one, as a hand-lettered scorecard.

More: Gifts for Rangers fans Gifts for Nationals fans Randy Johnson's perfect game Greatest no-hitters in baseball history How to keep score in baseball