Red Sox ace Sale becomes fastest in MLB history to 2,000 Ks

Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale struck out the 2,000th batter of his illustrious career Tuesday, breaking Pedro Martinez's record as the fastest ever to do so.

Martinez - a Red Sox legend himself - required 1,771 1/3 innings to reach the milestone, while Sale bested the mark handily at 1,626 innings, according to MLB Stats.

The lefty also became the 83rd pitcher in Major League Baseball history to join the club and just the 15th to do so before reaching his 31st birthday.

Sale - who doesn't turn 31 until March 30, 2020 - notched his 2,000th punchout against Cleveland Indians outfielder Oscar Mercado.

* - denotes Hall of Famer

Sale has already cemented himself as one of the best strikeout pitchers of all time, posting the best K/9 in MLB history among starters with at least 1,500 innings. Entering Tuesday's contest, the southpaw had authored an 11.09 K/9 through 1,527 2/3 innings as a starter, with an 11.06 K/9 including his time as a reliever.

Among pitchers with at least 1,500 innings, Sale entered Tuesday leading an incredibly elite group:

''It's cool. It's special,'' Sale said postgame, according to The Associated Press. ''I'm not a guy who is really into his stats, but I respect it. I appreciate what it means. A lot of people put in a lot of hard work to help me get there.''