ATLANTA -- John Smoltz tied his Atlanta Braves record with
his 15th strikeout in the seventh inning of Sunday's game against
the New York Mets.
Smoltz also struck out 15 on May 24, 1992, against Montreal.
After giving up a two-run homer to Carlos Beltran in the eighth
inning, Smoltz left the game trailing 2-1. He gave up eight hits
and two runs with no walks.
The Braves' all-time franchise record for strikeouts in a game
is 18 by Warren Spahn in 15 innings for the Boston Braves
against the Chicago Cubs on June 14, 1952. For a nine-inning game, the
franchise record is 17 strikeouts by Boston's Charlie Buffinton
against Cleveland on Sept. 2, 1884.
Smoltz tied his record by striking out Eric Valent in the
seventh inning.