Kluber Notches 18 Strikeouts to Set Interleague Record

Cleveland Indians pitcher Corey Kluber set a record for interleague play with his 18 strikeouts in Wednesday's 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, per Lee Sinins of Complete Baseball Encyclopedia.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez held the previous interleague record, striking out 17 Atlanta Braves on April 26, 2013.

Kluber also matched the franchise strikeout record for a nine-inning contest, which Hall of Famer Bob Feller originally set against the Detroit Tigers in October 1938, per the Plain Dealer.

However, Luis Tiant holds the franchise single-game record if innings are disregarded, as he struck out 19 batters over 10 frames against the Minnesota Twins in July 1968.

Furthermore, Kluber is the first pitcher since Ben Sheets in May 2004 to strike out 18 batters in a game, per Sportsnet Stats.

In any case, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner broke out of his early-season slump in a big way Wednesday night, allowing just a single and a hit batsman over eight innings, and making it through 6.2 frames with a no-hitter.

A single from shortstop Jhonny Peralta broke up the no-hit bid, but the Cardinals never truly threatened to score, failing to advance a runner past first base all night.

While it appeared Kluber might have a shot to tie or break the single-game MLB record of 20 strikeouts, Indians manager Terry Francona opted to send closer Cody Allen out for the ninth inning, with Kluber's pitch count sitting at a season-high 113.

The Indians ace now has a sterling 64-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 52.2 innings this season, but his other numbers are still less than spectacular.

He has a 1-5 record, 4.27 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, with Wednesday marking the first time in eight outings that the Indians were victorious in one of his starts.

Still, given his brilliance in Wednesday's outing, Kluber has surely eased any concerns in the minds of Tribe fans.