O’s pitchers break their record season strikeout total with 23 games to play

[Frobby]

This one certainly snuck up on me.   The Orioles pitchers set their all time season strikeout record last night, with 1,253.   They are averaging 9.0 K/9, compared to 7.6 last year.   Last year they were 25th in the majors in strikeouts, this year they’re 9th.  Honestly, I hadn’t really noticed any big uptick.  It’s gone completely under the radar from my perspective.  

Edited September 7, 2023 by Frobby

[Fiver6565]

I thought it was strange when KB first brought this up on the broadcast last night, because I don't recall it ever being mentioned as they were approaching it or anything.  I think it snuck up on everyone including the team statisticians, etc.  You would have thought it would have been mentioned at some point prior to them being literally one K away.

I can't find anything online but I do seem to recall that increasing K rate was a stated goal for Elias as the few years have gone by.  I guess he's done so, and the management team deserves a lot of credit for identifying and developing better strikeout rate pitchers.

[Can_of_corn]

I think we've just become so accustomed to high strike out totals in games it just didn't register.

That is a pretty impressive uptick.

[Aristotelian]

Agreed, I heard this on the broadcast and had a double take reaction as well. 9+ K/9 is also a number I wasn't aware of. Interestingly Grayson is the only SP over 9, although Bradish, Kremer, and Wells are all close. It appears the bullpen is putting us over the top, with Bautista and Fuji leading the way. Coulombe has a sneaky high K rate as well. The ability to get K's is something the O's have been a historical weakness, so it is nice to see. Apparently something Sig prioritizes and it's paying off.

[Moose Milligan]

Nice to see that we've got some guys that can make opponents swing and miss.

[Frobby]

Per Roch, the O’s broke their record for strikeouts by the starting rotation last night, a record that had stood since 1968.  Even as strikeouts have been going up over the years, innings pitched by the starters have been going down. So, that’s a nice accomplishment.