# List of Major League Baseball single-inning strikeout leaders

In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat. Under Rules 6.05 and 6.09 of the Official Rules of Major League Baseball, a batter becomes a runner when a third strike is not caught by the catcher with no runner on first base or when there are two outs. The strikeout is recorded, but the batter-runner must be tagged or forced out in order for the defensive team to register the out. Thus, it is possible for a pitcher to record more than three strikeouts in an inning.
As a result of this rule, 93 different pitchers have struck out four batters in a half-inning of a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, the most recent being Tyler Glasnow of the Tampa Bay Rays on July 7, 2023. Five players – Chuck Finley, A. J. Burnett, Zack Greinke, Craig Kimbrel, and Tyler Glasnow – have accomplished the feat more than once in their career (Finley is the only one to do it three times, and all three times were within a one-year span); no player has ever struck out more than four batters in an inning. Ed Crane was the first player to strike out four batters in one inning, doing so in the fifth inning for the New York Giants against the Chicago White Stockings on October 4, 1888.
Out of the 93 pitchers who have accomplished the feat, 71 were right-handed and 22 were left-handed. Finley is the only pitcher to achieve the feat on three separate occasions, as well as twice in a single season. Pete Richert struck out four batters in the third inning of his first major league game, becoming the only player to attain the milestone in his debut. Orval Overall is the sole player to strike out four batters in one inning in the World Series.
Of the players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have struck out four batters in an inning, four have been elected: Don Drysdale, Bob Gibson, Walter Johnson, and Phil Niekro. 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 dead for at least six months.

## Players

Key :
| Pitcher (X) | Name of the pitcher and number of four strikeout innings they had pitched at that point |
| 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 four batters in one inning |
| Inning | The inning in which the pitcher struck out four batters |
| Batters faced (X) | The four batters who were struck out and number of four strikeout innings they had batted in at that point |
| Box | Box score with play by play (if available) |
| º | Indicates that the pitcher struck out all four batters consecutively |
| § | Denotes the batter who reached base |
| † | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame |
| ‡ | Player is active |
MLB pitchers who have struck out four batters in one inning :
| Pitcher | Date | Team | Opposing team | Inning | Batters faced | Box |
| Ed Crane$^º$ | October 4, 1888 | New York Giants | Chicago White Stockings | 5th | Fred Pfeffer, Ned Williamson, Tom Burns$^§$, John Tener | n/a |
| Doc White | July 21, 1902 | Philadelphia Phillies | Brooklyn Superbas | 5th | Jimmy Sheckard, Bill Dahlen, Charlie Irwin, Ed Wheeler | |
| Hooks Wiltse$^º$ | May 15, 1906 | New York Giants | Cincinnati Reds | 5th | Jim Delahanty$^§$, Tommy Corcoran, Admiral Schlei, Chick Fraser | n/a |
| Orval Overall | October 14, 1908 | Chicago Cubs | Detroit Tigers | 1st | Charley O'Leary, Ty Cobb, Claude Rossman$^§$, Germany Schaefer | |
| Walter Johnson$^†$ | April 15, 1911 | Washington Senators | Boston Red Sox | 5th | Ray Collins, Larry Gardner$^§$, Harry Hooper, Duffy Lewis | n/a |
| Guy Morton | June 11, 1916 | Cleveland Indians | Philadelphia Athletics | 6th | Whitey Witt$^§$, Charlie Pick, Nap Lajoie, Stuffy McInnis | |
| Jim Davis$^º$ | May 27, 1956 | Chicago Cubs | St. Louis Cardinals | 6th | Hal Smith, Jackie Brandt, Lindy McDaniel$^§$, Don Blasingame | |
| Joe Nuxhall | August 11, 1959 | Cincinnati Redlegs | Milwaukee Braves | 6th | Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock, Del Crandall$^§$, Johnny Logan | |
| Ryne Duren | May 18, 1961 | Los Angeles Angels | Chicago White Sox | 7th | Minnie Miñoso, Roy Sievers$^§$, J. C. Martin, Sammy Esposito | |
| Pete Richert$^º$ | April 12, 1962 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Cincinnati Reds | 3rd | Frank Robinson, Gordy Coleman$^§$, Wally Post, Johnny Edwards | |
| Lee Stange | September 2, 1964 | Cleveland Indians | Washington Senators | 7th | Don Lock$^§$, Willie Kirkland, Don Zimmer, John Kennedy | |
| Don Drysdale$^º$$^†$ | April 17, 1965 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Philadelphia Phillies | 2nd | Wes Covington$^§$, Tony González, Dick Stuart, Clay Dalrymple | |
| Bob Gibson$^†$ | June 7, 1966 | St. Louis Cardinals | Pittsburgh Pirates | 4th | Jerry Lynch, Jim Pagliaroni, Bill Mazeroski$^§$, Don Cardwell | |
| Mike Cuellar$^º$ | May 29, 1970 | Baltimore Orioles | California Angels | 4th | Alex Johnson$^§$, Ken McMullen, Tommie Reynolds, Jim Spencer | |
| Bill Bonham$^º$ | July 31, 1974 | Chicago Cubs | Montreal Expos | 2nd | Mike Torrez$^§$, Ron Hunt, Tim Foli, Willie Davis | |
| Phil Niekro$^†$ | July 29, 1977 | Atlanta Braves | Pittsburgh Pirates | 6th | Dave Parker, Bill Robinson, Rennie Stennett$^§$, Omar Moreno | |
| Mike Paxton$^º$ | July 21, 1978 | Cleveland Indians | Seattle Mariners | 5th | Dan Meyer$^§$, Bruce Bochte, Tom Paciorek, Bill Stein | |
| Mario Soto$^º$ | May 17, 1984 | Cincinnati Reds | Chicago Cubs | 3rd | Tom Veryzer, Dick Ruthven, Bob Dernier$^§$, Ryne Sandberg | |
| Mike Scott | September 3, 1986 | Houston Astros | Chicago Cubs | 5th | Chris Speier$^§$, Chico Walker, Dave Martinez, Ryne Sandberg (2) | |
| Bobby Witt$^º$ | August 2, 1987 | Texas Rangers | Baltimore Orioles | 2nd | Ray Knight, Terry Kennedy$^§$, Mike Young, Ken Gerhart | |
| Charlie Hough | July 4, 1988 | Texas Rangers | New York Yankees | 1st | Claudell Washington$^§$, Jack Clark, Dave Winfield, Mike Pagliarulo | |
| Paul Assenmacher | August 22, 1989 | Atlanta Braves | St. Louis Cardinals | 5th | Terry Pendleton, Milt Thompson, Tony Peña$^§$, Ted Power | |
| Tim Birtsas | June 4, 1990 | Cincinnati Reds | San Francisco Giants | 7th | Greg Litton, Will Clark, Matt Williams$^§$, Gary Carter | |
| Matt Young | September 9, 1990 | Seattle Mariners | Boston Red Sox | 1st | Jody Reed, Carlos Quintana, Wade Boggs$^§$, Mike Greenwell | |
| Paul Shuey | May 14, 1994 | Cleveland Indians | Detroit Tigers | 9th | Chad Kreuter, Chris Gomez, Travis Fryman$^§$, Cecil Fielder | |
| Mark Wohlers$^º$ | June 7, 1995 | Atlanta Braves | Chicago Cubs | 9th | Kevin Roberson, Rick Wilkins, Shawon Dunston$^§$, Sammy Sosa | |
| Bruce Ruffin | July 25, 1996 | Colorado Rockies | Chicago Cubs | 9th | Sammy Sosa (2), Scott Servais$^§$, Leo Gómez, Brian McRae | |
| Kevin Appier$^º$ | September 3, 1996 | Kansas City Royals | Toronto Blue Jays | 4th | Ed Sprague Jr., Carlos Delgado$^§$, Charlie O'Brien, Alex Gonzalez | |
| Derek Wallace | September 13, 1996 | New York Mets | Atlanta Braves | 9th | Terry Pendleton$^§$ (2), Chipper Jones, Ryan Klesko, Mike Mordecai | |
| Wilson Álvarez$^º$ | July 21, 1997 | Chicago White Sox | Detroit Tigers | 7th | Tony Clark, Phil Nevin$^§$, Melvin Nieves, Orlando Miller | |
| Blake Stein | July 27, 1998 | Oakland Athletics | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 4th | Bubba Trammell, Rich Butler, Mike DiFelice$^§$, Kevin Stocker | |
| Kirt Ojala$^º$ | September 16, 1998 | Florida Marlins | Montreal Expos | 4th | Fernando Seguignol, Vladimir Guerrero$^§$, Shane Andrews, Brad Fullmer | |
| Archie Corbin | April 28, 1999 | Florida Marlins | Chicago Cubs | 7th | Benito Santiago, Tyler Houston$^§$, Steve Trachsel, Mickey Morandini | |
| Chuck Finley | May 12, 1999 | Anaheim Angels | New York Yankees | 3rd | Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, Derek Jeter$^§$, Paul O'Neill | |
| Jerry Spradlin | July 22, 1999 | San Francisco Giants | San Diego Padres | 7th | George Arias, Damian Jackson, Carlos Baerga$^§$, Quilvio Veras | |
| Tim Wakefield | August 10, 1999 | Boston Red Sox | Kansas City Royals | 9th | Chad Kreuter, Scott Pose, Johnny Damon$^§$, Carlos Beltrán | |
| Chuck Finley$^º$ (2) | August 15, 1999 | Anaheim Angels | Detroit Tigers | 1st | Deivi Cruz, Juan Encarnación, Dean Palmer$^§$, Tony Clark | |
| Steve Kline$^º$ | August 17, 1999 | Montreal Expos | San Francisco Giants | 7th | Brent Mayne, Shawn Estes$^§$, Marvin Benard, Ramón Martínez | |
| Chuck Finley (3) | April 16, 2000 | Cleveland Indians | Texas Rangers | 3rd | Tom Evans, Royce Clayton, Chad Curtis$^§$, Rafael Palmeiro | |
| Erik Hiljus | June 30, 2001 | Oakland Athletics | Texas Rangers | 7th | Bo Porter, Michael Young$^§$, Bill Haselman, Scott Sheldon | |
| Frank Rodriguez | July 22, 2001 | Cincinnati Reds | Florida Marlins | 7th | Charles Johnson, Dave Berg, Ryan Thompson$^§$, Mike Lowell | |
| A. J. Burnett | July 5, 2002 | Florida Marlins | New York Mets | 1st | Mike Piazza, Mo Vaughn, Timo Pérez$^§$, Roger Cedeño | |
| Kerry Wood$^º$ | September 2, 2002 | Chicago Cubs | Milwaukee Brewers | 4th | Bill Hall$^§$, Ryan Thompson (2), Paul Bako$^§$, Andrew Lorraine | |
| Kazuhiro Sasaki$^º$ | April 4, 2003 | Seattle Mariners | Texas Rangers | 9th | Todd Greene, Carl Everett$^§$, Michael Young (2), Mike Lamb | |
| Darren Dreifort | May 22, 2003 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Colorado Rockies | 2nd | Bobby Estalella, Brent Butler, Aaron Cook$^§$, Greg Norton | |
| Octavio Dotel$^º$ | June 11, 2003 | Houston Astros | New York Yankees | 8th | Juan Rivera, Alfonso Soriano$^§$, Derek Jeter (2), Jason Giambi | |
| Brad Lidge | June 13, 2004 | Houston Astros | Milwaukee Brewers | 7th | Geoff Jenkins$^§$, Keith Ginter, Ben Grieve, Chad Moeller | |
| Mike Stanton | August 3, 2004 | New York Mets | Milwaukee Brewers | 8th | Gary Bennett, Scott Podsednik$^§$, Trent Durrington, Wes Helms | |
| Jon Rauch | April 26, 2006 | Washington Nationals | Cincinnati Reds | 8th | David Ross, Bronson Arroyo, Felipe López$^§$, Adam Dunn | |
| Brad Penny | September 23, 2006 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Arizona Diamondbacks | 2nd | Chad Tracy$^§$, Stephen Drew, Miguel Batista, Eric Byrnes | |
| Scott Baker$^º$ | June 15, 2008 | Minnesota Twins | Milwaukee Brewers | 3rd | Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder$^§$, Russell Branyan, Mike Cameron | |
| Scot Shields | June 21, 2008 | Los Angeles Angels | Philadelphia Phillies | 8th | Greg Dobbs, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino$^§$, Ryan Howard | |
| Ryan Dempster | October 4, 2009 | Chicago Cubs | Arizona Diamondbacks | 5th | Stephen Drew (2), Gerardo Parra$^§$, Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds | |
| Luke Gregerson | October 4, 2009 | San Diego Padres | San Francisco Giants | 7th | Randy Winn, Eugenio Vélez$^§$, Andrés Torres, Juan Uribe | |
| Félix Hernández$^º$ | June 3, 2010 | Seattle Mariners | Minnesota Twins | 8th | Denard Span, Matt Tolbert, Joe Mauer$^§$, Justin Morneau | |
| Manny Parra | June 6, 2010 | Milwaukee Brewers | St. Louis Cardinals | 4th | Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick, Yadier Molina$^§$, Colby Rasmus | |
| A. J. Burnett$^º$ (2) | June 24, 2011 | New York Yankees | Colorado Rockies | 6th | Chris Iannetta, Carlos González, Chris Nelson$^§$, Todd Helton | |
| Justin Masterson$^º$ | August 4, 2011 | Cleveland Indians | Boston Red Sox | 2nd | Josh Reddick$^§$, Jason Varitek, Marco Scutaro, Jacoby Ellsbury | |
| Jeremy Hellickson$^º$ | August 25, 2011 | Tampa Bay Rays | Detroit Tigers | 3rd | Austin Jackson$^§$, Ramón Santiago, Delmon Young, Víctor Martínez | |
| Yovani Gallardo$^º$ | September 17, 2011 | Milwaukee Brewers | Cincinnati Reds | 5th | Devin Mesoraco, Edinson Vólquez, Brandon Phillips$^§$, Édgar Rentería | |
| Bud Norris | April 24, 2012 | Houston Astros | Milwaukee Brewers | 3rd | Travis Ishikawa$^§$, Randy Wolf, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Braun (2) | |
| Ryan Cook$^º$ | April 27, 2012 | Oakland Athletics | Baltimore Orioles | 8th | J. J. Hardy, Nick Markakis, Adam Jones$^§$, Matt Wieters | |
| Francisco Liriano$^º$ | June 5, 2012 | Minnesota Twins | Kansas City Royals | 4th | Mike Moustakas, Jeff Francoeur$^§$, Eric Hosmer, Brayan Peña | |
| Steve Delabar$^º$ | August 13, 2012 | Toronto Blue Jays | Chicago White Sox | 10th | Dayán Viciedo, Tyler Flowers$^§$, Gordon Beckham, Alejandro De Aza | |
| Jason Berken$^º$ | September 20, 2012 | Chicago Cubs | Cincinnati Reds | 2nd | Denis Phipps, Ryan Hanigan$^§$, Didi Gregorius, Johnny Cueto | |
| Phil Hughes$^º$ | September 20, 2012 | New York Yankees | Toronto Blue Jays | 4th | J. P. Arencibia, Adeiny Hechavarria$^§$, Anthony Gose, Brett Lawrie | |
| Zack Greinke$^‡$ | September 25, 2012 | Los Angeles Angels | Seattle Mariners | 4th | John Jaso, Eric Thames, Trayvon Robinson$^§$, Brendan Ryan | |
| Craig Kimbrel$^º$$^‡$ | September 26, 2012 | Atlanta Braves | Miami Marlins | 9th | Greg Dobbs (2), Donovan Solano$^§$, John Buck, Gil Velazquez | |
| Tony Cingrani | April 28, 2013 | Cincinnati Reds | Washington Nationals | 4th | Denard Span$^§$ (2), Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond, Adam LaRoche | |
| Alex Cobb$^º$$^‡$ | May 10, 2013 | Tampa Bay Rays | San Diego Padres | 3rd | Will Venable$^§$, Chase Headley, Carlos Quentin, Yonder Alonso | |
| Aníbal Sánchez | October 12, 2013 | Detroit Tigers | Boston Red Sox | 1st | Jacoby Ellsbury (2), Shane Victorino$^§$ (2), David Ortiz, Mike Napoli | |
| Zack Greinke$^º$$^‡$ (2) | July 25, 2014 | Los Angeles Dodgers | San Francisco Giants | 3rd | Héctor Sánchez, Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence$^§$, Gregor Blanco | |
| Justin Grimm | August 29, 2014 | Chicago Cubs | St. Louis Cardinals | 9th | Oscar Taveras, Daniel Descalso$^§$, Matt Carpenter, Kolten Wong | |
| Óliver Pérez$^º$ | September 20, 2014 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Colorado Rockies | 7th | Justin Morneau$^§$, Corey Dickerson, Michael McKenry, Matt McBride | |
| Kenley Jansen$^º$$^‡$ | May 15, 2015 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Colorado Rockies | 8th | Carlos González$^§$ (2), Nick Hundley, Drew Stubbs, DJ LeMahieu | |
| Sergio Santos | May 16, 2015 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Colorado Rockies | 8th | DJ LeMahieu$^§$ (2), Drew Stubbs (2), Wilin Rosario, Michael McKenry (2) | |
| Will Smith$^º$$^‡$ | October 4, 2015 | Milwaukee Brewers | Chicago Cubs | 9th | Miguel Montero, Addison Russell$^§$, Javier Báez, Austin Jackson (2) | |
| Tyler Duffey$^‡$ | May 8, 2016 | Minnesota Twins | Chicago White Sox | 7th | Brett Lawrie (2), Avisaíl García, Dioner Navarro$^§$, Austin Jackson (3) | |
| Julio Teherán$^‡$ | May 24, 2016 | Atlanta Braves | Milwaukee Brewers | 2nd | Jonathan Lucroy, Chris Carter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis$^§$, Ramón Flores | |
| Ken Giles$^‡$ | August 7, 2016 | Houston Astros | Texas Rangers | 9th | Nomar Mazara$^§$, Shin-Soo Choo, Ian Desmond (2), Jurickson Profar | |
| Jake Thompson$^‡$ | August 12, 2016 | Philadelphia Phillies | Colorado Rockies | 2nd | David Dahl$^§$, Ben Paulsen, Daniel Descalso (2), Jon Gray | |
| James Paxton$^‡$ | September 6, 2016 | Seattle Mariners | Texas Rangers | 1st | Delino DeShields Jr., Ian Desmond$^§$ (3), Jonathan Lucroy (2), Elvis Andrus | |
| Jon Gray$^º$$^‡$ | September 17, 2016 | Colorado Rockies | San Diego Padres | 2nd | Ryan Schimpf, Jon Jay$^§$, Oswaldo Arcia, Derek Norris | |
| Nate Karns | May 3, 2017 | Kansas City Royals | Chicago White Sox | 6th | Matt Davidson, Tim Anderson, Yolmer Sánchez$^§$, Jose Abreu | |
| Craig Kimbrel$^‡$ (2) | May 25, 2017 | Boston Red Sox | Texas Rangers | 9th | Nomar Mazara$^§$ (2), Jonathan Lucroy (3), Rougned Odor, Mike Napoli (2) | |
| Mike Bolsinger$^º$ | July 18, 2017 | Toronto Blue Jays | Boston Red Sox | 13th | Mitch Moreland, Jackie Bradley Jr.$^§$, Christian Vázquez, Deven Marrero | |
| Zack Godley$^‡$ | August 13, 2017 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Chicago Cubs | 1st | Jon Jay (2), Tommy La Stella, Victor Caratini$^§$, Kyle Schwarber | |
| Zach Duke | March 29, 2018 | Minnesota Twins | Baltimore Orioles | 7th | Trey Mancini$^§$, Tim Beckham, Craig Gentry, Chris Davis | |
| Ryan Dull$^‡$ | April 17, 2018 | Oakland Athletics | Chicago White Sox | 8th | Omar Narvaez$^§$, Avisail Garcia (2), Jose Abreu (2), Matt Davidson (2) | |
| Miguel Díaz$^‡$ | July 8, 2018 | San Diego Padres | Arizona Diamondbacks | 11th | Ketel Marte, Jake Lamb, Chris Owings$^§$, Jon Jay (3) | |
| German Marquez$^‡$ | October 1, 2018 | Colorado Rockies | Los Angeles Dodgers | 4th | Max Muncy$^§$, Manny Machado, Yasmani Grandal, Walker Buehler | |
| Luke Bard$^‡$ | April 22, 2019 | Los Angeles Angels | New York Yankees | 14th | Gleyber Torres$^§$, Clint Frazier, Mike Tauchman, Kyle Higashioka | |
| Tyler Glasnow$^‡$ | April 23, 2021 | Tampa Bay Rays | Toronto Blue Jays | 1st | Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.$^§$, Danny Jansen | |
| Lance McCullers Jr.$^‡$ | May 22, 2021 | Houston Astros | Texas Rangers | 1st | Nate Lowe, Adolis Garcia, Joey Gallo$^§$, Khris Davis | |
| Clayton Kershaw$^º$$^‡$ | June 11, 2021 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Texas Rangers | 4th | Eli White, Adolis Garcia$^§$ (2), Joey Gallo (2), Nick Solak | |
| Jonathan Loáisiga$^º$$^‡$ | June 25, 2021 | New York Yankees | Boston Red Sox | 7th | Michael Chavis$^§$, Alex Verdugo, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts | |
| Domingo Germán$^º$$^‡$ | July 25, 2021 | New York Yankees | Boston Red Sox | 7th | Jarren Duran, Xander Bogaerts$^§$ (2), Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez (2) | |
| Craig Stammen | September 24, 2021 | San Diego Padres | Atlanta Braves | 6th | Ozzie Albies$^§$, Austin Riley, Eddie Rosario, Dansby Swanson | |
| Michael Rucker$^‡$ | April 30, 2022 | Chicago Cubs | Milwaukee Brewers | 5th | Keston Hiura, Lorenzo Cain, Alex Jackson$^§$, Andrew McCutchen | |
| Chris Martin$^º$$^‡$ | August 15, 2022 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Milwaukee Brewers | 6th | Andrew McCutchen$^§$ (2), Kolten Wong (2), Hunter Renfroe, Rowdy Tellez | |
| Tyler Glasnow$^‡$ (2) | July 7, 2023 | Tampa Bay Rays | Atlanta Braves | 2nd | Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Marcell Ozuna$^§$, Eddie Rosario (2) | |