Former Seattle Mariners Ace Hits Major Career Milestone Against Old Mates on Tuesday
Pitching against his old squad on Tuesday night, former Seattle Mariners ace and current Boston Red Sox pitcher James Paxton hit a major career milestone. By striking out Justin Turner in the top of the fourth inning, Paxton punched out his 1,000th career batter. In addition, he became the seventh different Canadian pitcher to hit the mark.
Former #Mariners pitcher James Paxton just recorded his 1,000th career strikeout, with many of them coming in Seattle.
— Brady Farkas (@WDEVRadioBrady) July 31, 2024
Paxton recorded several of those 1,000 strikeouts with the Mariners. The "Big Maple" recorded 619 punchouts with the Mariners over parts of seven seasons. He debuted with Seattle in 2013 and stayed through the 2018 season. He was traded to the New York Yankees before the 2019 season and came back to Seattle in 2021, but was injured in his first start and missed the entire season with Tommy John surgery.
He threw an epic no-hitter in Toronto against the Blue Jays as part of his first M's tenure. In addition to playing with the Mariners and Yankees, Paxton spent 2022 and 2023 with the Red Sox organization and then signed with the Dodgers this past offseason.
He is back in Boston after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers last weekend.
One of the more likable Mariners players of the 2000s, Paxton had his own cheering at T-Mobile Park called the "Maple Grove."
Paxton lasted 4.1 innings in Tuesday's start. He allowed six hits and one walk. He struck out five and was charged with six runs, only two of which were earned thanks to some porous Red Sox defense in the fifth inning. He took the loss to fall to 8-3 on the year.
The Mariners are now 57-52 on the season and will play the Red Sox again on Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. PT.
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