Justin Verlander surpasses SF Giants Hall of Famer on all-time strikeout list

Justin Verlander notched six strikeouts across six scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night. His 5th strikeout of the outing was an important one, as it gave him 3,535 strikeouts in his career, surpassing SF Giants Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry for eighth on the all-time strikeout list.

Justin Verlander surpasses SF Giants Hall of Famer on all-time strikeout list

When Verlander departed the game, the Giants had a comfortable 2-0 lead. He was in line to record his 266th career win.

Wins have not been easy to come by for Verlander this season. He has pitched to a 4.09 ERA in 25 starts, which is better than his 3-10 record would suggest. For one reason or another, the bullpen has had its meltdowns during his starts.

Ryan Walker entered the game in the ninth inning against a lineup that had only collected three hits up until that point. He did not register an out before allowing three runs to score on a walk-off win by the Cardinals. Walker has been excellent lately, and that was the first runs he has allowed since August 3.

It may not have been a memorable night for Walker, but Verlander's achievement was a cool moment for the organization. Gaylord Perry pitched for 22 seasons in the majors, including 10 years with the Giants. He earned five All-Star nods and won two Cy Young Awards while collecting 314 wins in his Hall of Fame career.

Perry became the first pitcher in baseball history to win a Cy Young Award in both leagues. His No. 36 is retired by the Giants. The longtime major league pitcher had more success on the baseball field than nearly every pitcher in baseball history.

Similar to Perry, Justin Verlander has achieved just about everything in baseball. He now sits eighth on the all-time strikeout list.

Verlander got off to a slow start, but he has pitched a lot better lately, and is close to getting his ERA below four. The 42-year-old pitcher has expressed his desire to continue pitching until he reaches 300 career wins. If he continues down this path, Don Sutton (3,574 strikeouts), Tom Seaver (3,640 strikeouts), and Bert Blyleven (3,701 strikeouts) would be next on the list.

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