Liriano's 1,000th K sets new Pirates staff record

By Tom Singer

September 21, 2013

PITTSBURGH -- Francisco Liriano was not able to celebrate a 17th win Friday night after the Pirates could not protect the three-run lead he walked out on after eight innings.

But nobody could take away the left-hander's 1,000th career strikeout -- of Chris Heisey, in the eighth -- so did Liriano celebrate that?

Well, he might have, had he known about it.

"That's news to me. I don't follow that stuff," Liriano said after the Bucs' heartbreaking 6-5 loss in 10 innings to the Reds. "I had no idea."

The Pirates' fans in attendance did and gave Liriano a warm ovation after he recorded the strikeout.

The same strikeout that was career No. 1,000 for Liriano was the Pirates' 1,193rd of this season, breaking a 1-year-old club record. With Liriano picking up one more and Mark Melancon adding another strikeout, the Bucs' record total is at 1,195 with eight games remaining.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog Change for a Nickel. He can also be found on Twitter @Tom_Singer.