List of major league Baseball single - game strikeout Leaders - wikipedia List of major league Baseball single - game strikeout Leaders Roger Clemens ( left ) and Randy Johnson ( right ) are the only pitchers to strike out 18 or more batters in a nine - inning game on three separate occasions. In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat. Twenty different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in a single nine - inning Major League Baseball ( MLB ) game as of 2016, the most recent being Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals on May 11, 2016. Four players have accomplished the feat more than once in their career ; no player has ever struck out more than 20 batters in a nine - inning game. ( Tom Cheney struckout 21 in a 16 - inning game. ) Charlie Sweeney was the first player to strike out 18 batters in a single game, doing so for the Providence Grays against the Boston Beaneaters on June 7, 1884. In spite of this, Bob Feller is viewed as the first pitcher to accomplish the feat, since his then - record 18 strikeouts was the first to occur during the 20th century and the live - ball era. Out of the twenty pitchers who have accomplished the feat, fifteen were right - handed and five pitched left - handed. Five of these players have played for only one major league team. Five pitchers -- Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver -- are also members of the 3,000 strikeout club. Sweeney has the fewest career strikeouts in the group with 505, while Nolan Ryan, with 5,714, struck out more batters than any other pitcher in major league history. Bill Gullickson and Kerry Wood are the only rookies to have achieved the feat. Tom Seaver concluded his milestone game by striking out the final ten batters he faced, setting a new major league record for most consecutive strikeouts. Of the eleven players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have struck out 18 batters in a game, six have been elected ; all six were elected on the first ballot. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 major league seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months. These requirements leave two players ineligible who are active, two players ineligible who are living and have played in the past five seasons, and five who did not play in 10 major league seasons. Contents 1 Players 1.1 18 strikeouts in extra-inning games 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links Players Kerry Wood tied Roger Clemens ' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine - inning game on May 6, 1998. Sandy Koufax is one of six pitchers who have 18 strikeouts in a game to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bob Feller was the first player to achieve 18 strikeouts in a game during the live - ball era. Max Scherzer tied Kerry Wood and Roger Clemens ' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine - inning game on May 11, 2016. Nolan Ryan amassed 18 or more strikeouts in a nine - inning game twice, as well as 19 strikeouts in extra-inning games three times. Key Pitcher Name of the pitcher Date Date of the game Team The player 's team at the time of the game Opposing team The team against whom the pitcher struck out 18 players Score Final score of the game, with the player 's team score listed first Strikeouts Number of strikeouts the pitcher recorded Career Ks Career strikeouts Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame * Player is active Indicates the player 's team lost the game MLB pitchers with 18 strikeouts in a nine - inning game Pitcher Date Team Opposing team Score Strikeouts Career Ks Refs Max Scherzer May 11, 2016 Washington Nationals Detroit Tigers 3 -- 2 20 2,149 Kerry Wood May 6, 1998 Chicago Cubs Houston Astros 2 -- 0 20 1,582 Roger Clemens September 18, 1996 Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers 4 -- 0 20 4,672 Roger Clemens April 29, 1986 Boston Red Sox Seattle Mariners 3 -- 1 20 4,672 Randy Johnson August 8, 1997 Seattle Mariners Chicago White Sox 5 -- 0 19 4,875 Randy Johnson June 24, 1997 Seattle Mariners Oakland Athletics 1 -- 4 19 4,875 David Cone October 6, 1991 New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies 7 -- 0 19 2,668 Nolan Ryan August 12, 1974 California Angels Boston Red Sox 4 -- 2 19 5,714 Tom Seaver April 22, 1970 New York Mets San Diego Padres 2 -- 1 19 3,640 Steve Carlton September 15, 1969 St. Louis Cardinals New York Mets 3 -- 4 19 4,136 Hugh Daily July 7, 1884 Chicago Browns Boston Reds 10 -- 4 19 846 Charlie Sweeney June 7, 1884 Providence Grays Boston Beaneaters 2 -- 1 19 505 Corey Kluber May 13, 2015 Cleveland Indians St. Louis Cardinals 2 -- 0 18 1,201 Ben Sheets May 16, 2004 Milwaukee Brewers Atlanta Braves 4 -- 1 18 1,325 Roger Clemens August 25, 1998 Toronto Blue Jays Kansas City Royals 3 -- 0 18 4,672 Randy Johnson September 27, 1992 Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers 2 -- 3 18 4,875 Ramón Martínez June 4, 1990 Los Angeles Dodgers Atlanta Braves 6 -- 0 18 1,427 Bill Gullickson September 10, 1980 Montreal Expos Chicago Cubs 4 -- 2 18 1,279 Ron Guidry June 17, 1978 New York Yankees California Angels 4 -- 0 18 1,778 Nolan Ryan September 10, 1976 California Angels Chicago White Sox 3 -- 2 18 5,714 Don Wilson July 14, 1968 Houston Astros Cincinnati Reds 6 -- 1 18 1,283 Sandy Koufax April 24, 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers Chicago Cubs 10 -- 2 18 2,396 Sandy Koufax August 31, 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers San Francisco Giants 5 -- 2 18 2,396 Bob Feller October 2, 1938 Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers 1 -- 4 18 2,581 Henry Porter October 3, 1884 Milwaukee Brewers Boston Reds 4 -- 5 18 659 Dupee Shaw July 19, 1884 Boston Reds St. Louis Maroons 0 -- 1 18 950 18 strikeouts in extra-inning games Seven different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in an extra-inning Major League Baseball ( MLB ) game to date. Only Nolan Ryan accomplished the feat more than once in his career and no player has ever struck out more than 21 batters in a game. The following list is kept separate from the above list of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine - inning game. This is due to the differing number of innings pitched during an extra-inning game, the lack of a definitive endpoint to the game that would otherwise allow for a fair comparison to be made, and the advantage of having more opportunities to strike out players during an extra-inning game as opposed to one lasting nine innings. Key IP Innings pitched by the pitcher in the game MLB pitchers with 18 strikeouts in an extra-inning game Pitcher Date Team Opposing team Score Strikeouts IP Career Ks Refs Tom Cheney September 12, 1962 Washington Senators Baltimore Orioles 2 -- 1 21 16 345 Randy Johnson May 8, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks Cincinnati Reds 4 -- 3 20 9 4,875 Luis Tiant July 3, 1968 Cleveland Indians Minnesota Twins 1 -- 0 19 10 2,416 Nolan Ryan June 14, 1974 California Angels Boston Red Sox 4 -- 3 19 13 5,714 Nolan Ryan August 20, 1974 California Angels Detroit Tigers 0 -- 1 19 11 5,714 Nolan Ryan June 8, 1977 California Angels Toronto Blue Jays 2 -- 1 19 10 5,714 Warren Spahn June 14, 1952 Boston Braves Chicago Cubs 1 -- 3 18 15 2,583 Chris Short October 2, 1965 Philadelphia Phillies New York Mets 0 -- 0 18 15 1,629 Jim Maloney June 14, 1965 Cincinnati Reds New York Mets 0 -- 1 18 11 1,605 See also Baseball portal 3,000 strikeout club Notes Jump up ^ 18 strikeouts is utilized as the benchmark because it signifies approximately ​ ⁄ of a nine - inning game 's 27 outs were made by a single pitcher via a strikeout ( `` approximately '' due to the fact that a pitcher can record more than three strikeouts in an inning with the uncaught third strike rule ). 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Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. May 16, 2004. Retrieved September 5, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Ben Sheets Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2012. Jump up ^ `` August 25, 1998 Kansas City Royals at Toronto Blue Jays Play by Play and Box Score ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. August 25, 1998. Retrieved September 5, 2010. Jump up ^ `` September 27, 1992 Seattle Mariners at Texas Rangers Play by Play and Box Score ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. September 27, 1992. Retrieved September 5, 2010. Jump up ^ `` June 4, 1990 Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers Play by Play and Box Score ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. June 4, 1990. Retrieved September 5, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Ramon Martinez Statistics and History ''. Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 1, 2012. 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Question: what's the most strikeouts in a mlb game
Answer: 21 in a 16-inning game