On June 22, 1959, Sandy Koufax set a new MLB record for most strikeouts in a night game as he went the distance in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
Koufax allowed two runs (one earned) on 10 hits and collected 16 strikeouts against three walks on 158 pitches (107 strikes).
The left-hander fell just short of tying Dazzy Vance’s then-Dodgers franchise record of 17 strikeouts in a game, which he accomplished during the 1925 season. However, Koufax would surpass him when he notched 18 strikeouts against the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 31, 1959.
Koufax later matched that strikeout total in a start against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 24, 1962. The only other Dodgers pitcher to tally 18 strikeouts in a game is Ramón Martinez, who accomplished the feat against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium on June 4, 1990.
Koufax finished the 1959 season 8-6 with a 4.05 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine in 153.1 innings across 35 games (23 starts).
The 1959 season was the Dodgers’ second on the West Coast after relocating from Brooklyn. They played their home games at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum for parts of four seasons before Dodger Stadium opened in 1962.
Sandy Koufax shuts down Astros
Also on this day in 1966, Koufax threw a complete game against the Houston Astros at the Astrodome, with an announced attendance of 50,908. The attendance mark was a record that stood for 22 years.
Koufax improved to 13-2 on the season after holding the Astros to two runs and 10 hits while collecting six strikeouts in nine innings. The Dodgers ended up winning the game 5-2 behind two runs batted in from Maury Wills.
He finished 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA and 0.99 WHIP en route to winning his third National League Cy Young Award in what marked his final MLB season.
The Astrodome, which opened in 1965, made history as the world’s first multi-purpose domed sports stadium. The Astros played their home games there from 1965 to 1999, before moving to Daikin Park in 2000.
The Houston Oilers and Houston Rockets are among the other sports teams that once called the Astrodome home. The venue’s highest attended event was a George Strait concert in 2002, which seated 68,266 fans.
After being partially demolished, the Astrodome was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
