While much of the attention of the Cleveland sports community was (understandably) devoted to the 2021 NFL Draft, held in Northeast Ohio for the first time in the history of the annual event, another local figure was making his own history.
We're talking about Indians star pitcher Shane Bieber, of course, who got the start on Friday night against the division rival Chicago White Sox and looked to build upon his strong start to the season (2-2, 2.48 ERA, 57 K in 36.1 IP). And though his start wasn't flawless — he gave up three earned runs in the first three innings of the game, before settling in for three innings without a run — he still accomplished something amazing. With 11 strikeouts over that six-inning span, he easily surpassed the number that he needed to extend a certain streak into new record territory.
With his Friday night performance, Bieber recorded his 18th consecutive start with at least eight strikeouts, defeating Randy Johnson's record with relative ease. Here's the full list of pitchers with at least 12 such outings in a row, with Bieber's total not yet updated to reflect his Friday night start.
The usual suspects on a healthy amount of strikeout leaderboards — plus an appearance from the 2017 Cy Young Award iteration of then-Cleveland starter Corey Kluber — ain't got nothin' on what Bieber is slinging now. 18 games in a row with eight strikeouts is the type of consistency and dominance that separates the great from the good.
We can't wait to see how much further this streak extends.
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