By fanning the first two Washington ​Nationals batters in Arlington, Texas, deGrom became the ‌second-fastest pitcher to record 2,000 career strikeouts.

deGrom reached the mark in his 272nd game, leaving him behind only Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, ​who got there in 262 games. deGrom notched strikeout ​No. 2,000 after 1,661 innings, trailing only Chris Sale's ⁠1,626 innings.

On Thursday, deGrom struck out Daylen Lile swinging to ​open the game, then got Abimelec Ortiz to swing through ​a 1-2 slider for the whiff No. 2,000.

The Rangers' dugout stood and applauded as the scoreboard flashed a message showing deGrom's accomplishment. deGrom, 38, ​doffed his cap to acknowledge the fans' response.

The two-time Cy ​Young Award winner and five-time All-Star is the 95th major league pitcher ‌to ⁠strike out 2,000 batters, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Earlier this season, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman (May 11), Boston Red Sox right-hander Sonny Gray (June 28) and Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron ​Nola (Aug. 8) added ​their names ⁠to the list.

deGrom left the Thursday game after six shutout innings, having struck out 10 ​while permitting only one hit (a second-inning single) and ​one walk. ⁠He lowered his ERA to 3.77 through 23 starts this year.

deGrom is in his fourth season with Texas after pitching for ⁠the ​New York Mets from 2014-22. For ​his career before Thursday, deGrom had a 104-73 record with a 2.67 ERA ​that was the best among qualified active starting pitchers.

--Field Level Media