



SEATTLE — White Sox right-hander Lance Lynn struck out 16 batters over seven innings Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the Mariners, tying a franchise record held since 1954.
Lynn, 36, tied the Sox record set by Jack Harshman, who struck out 16 at Boston on July 25, 1954. It was the most strikeouts by a Sox since Chris Sale had 15 on Aug. 16, 2015, against the Cubs.
Lynn, who allowed a leadoff bunt in the eighth inning to Kolten Wong on his 114th pitch, was lifted by manager Pedro Grifol after throwing that one pitch in the eighth.
Lynn walked two batters and gave up four hits, including a two-run double to Julio Rodriguez in the third inning, and left trailing 2-1. Reliever Reynaldo Lopez walked two and gave up a three-run triple to Jarred Kelenic, making it 5-1.
Lynn was charged with three runs.
Using his full arsenal of pitches, Lynn got 33 swings and misses. Only Jacob deGrom in 2020, Danny Duffy in 2016 and Clayton Kershaw in 2015 with 35 each have had more in the pitch tracking era (since 2008), per @SlangsOnSports.
At age 36, Lynn was the oldest pitcher to strike out 16 or more in a game since Randy Johnson had 17 for the Mariners on Sept. 14, 2002.
It was an unexpected performance, even for a former All-Star, as Lynn entered the game with a 4-6 record and 6.72 ERA. He had two games of 10 strikeouts this season but had struck out a total of 14 while allowing 22 hits (including six home runs) and seven walks in his previous three starts.