Gilbert joins Mariners' 1000-K club -- and gets there in record time

ST. PETERSBURG -- Logan Gilbert set a Mariners franchise record in Seattle's 6-1 loss to the Rays. And he had the pleasure of doing it in front of loved ones.

The right-hander became the fifth pitcher in franchise history to reach 1,000 strikeouts when he got Jonny DeLuca to tip an 87.9 mph slider into Cal Raleigh’s glove to begin the bottom of the second inning at Tropicana Field. But none of those other hurlers -- Félix Hernández, Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer or Mark Langston -- recorded 1,000 K's faster than Gilbert.

It took him just 944 innings to get to the century mark, breaking Johnson's previous record for the fewest innings needed to obtain 1,000 strikeouts in a Mariners uniform (957 1/3), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Gilbert, a Florida native who was born and raised a few hours north of the Rays’ home park, received an ovation from his friends and family who were sitting near Seattle’s dugout.

After debuting in 2021, Gilbert has recorded at least 170 strikeouts in each of the past four seasons. His 870 strikeouts since the start of 2022 entering Saturday were the fourth-most in the Majors, trailing only Dylan Cease (1,028), Kevin Gausman (901) and Zack Wheeler (892).

The No. 14 overall selection by Seattle in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Stetson University, Gilbert entered his matchup against the AL East-leading Rays with a 1.78 ERA and 57 strikeouts across 50 2/3 innings in his previous eight starts. Seattle won seven of those eight games.