Old Mill grad Hader sets MLB record with 8 Ks in 22⁄3 innings

Old Mill graduate Josh Hader set a modern-day major league baseball record with a spectacular performance Monday night. Hader, in his second season as a relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, had eight strikeouts in just 22⁄3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds. The hard-throwing lefthander, a 19th-round draft pick by the Orioles in 2012, needed only 37 pitches to retire eight of the nine hitters he faced to earn the save as the Brewers beat the Reds, 6-5, at Great American Ball Park. “I don’t know what to say about Josh,” Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell told reporters during the postgame news conference. “Literally, your mouth is kind of wide-open while watching it. It was absolutely incredible.” Hader relieved Brandon Woodruff with one out in the seventh inning and the Brewers clinging to the one-run lead. The Millersville native struck out perennial All-Star slugger Joey Votto on three pitches and needed four pitches to fan Scott Schebler to close out the inning. Hader began the eighth by striking out Eugenio Suarez on just four offerings. Tucker Barnhart drew a five-pitch walk, but Hader, 24, recovered nicely, blowing away Alex Blandino on four pitches and pinch-hitter Adam Duvall on three. “I don’t think anybody could have hit [Hader] tonight,” Cincinnati interim manager Jim Riggleman said. Hader had not pitched since Wednesday. “I definitely felt good. Body was feeling good on that rest,” Hader told reporters. “It was nice to be able to stretch it out, get a couple innings in and let the fastball eat a little bit.”