Florida's Nolasco strikes out 9 straight Braves

Oct 1, 2009 - 1:41 AM ATLANTA(AP) -- Florida Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco struck out nine consecutive batters against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, one short of the major league record.

The streak ended with a leadoff double by Adam LaRoche in the sixth inning, and Nolasco finished with a club-record 16 strikeouts. After throwing more than 120 pitches, he was lifted by manager Fredi Gonzalez with two outs in the eighth. The Marlins were leading 5-2.

The big league record for consecutive strikeouts in a game is 10 by Hall of Famer Tom Seaver for the New York Mets on April 22, 1970, against San Diego.

Seaver struck out 19 in that game at Shea Stadium, including his final 10 batters in a 2-1 victory.

The major league record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game is 20, set by Roger Clemens (twice) and Kerry Wood. Randy Johnson also struck out 20 in the first nine innings of an 11-inning game for Arizona on May 8, 2001.

Nolasco fanned 12 through five innings, retiring 14 of his first 15 batters. He had 15 strikeouts through seven innings, setting the team record for a game.