Game record for K’s elusive

Is it possible anyone will break the all-time record of 20 strikeouts in a game this second half ?

Indians ace Corey Kluber, who missed out on a chance last year when he was removed after the eighth inning of a game with 18 strikeouts, believes so.

“It just seems like strikeouts are up, so there’s always that possibility,” Kluber said.

Perhaps even Kluber? “No, that’s a tall task,” he said.

The biggest impediment may be the fact high pitch counts lead managers to remove starters before they get the chance to get to 20.

“Maybe, but also you see a lot of guys like (Clayton) Kershaw, who had 13 strikeouts (recently) and threw a complete game,” Kluber said. “So there are definitely guys who get strikeouts without getting the pitch count out of control.”

The guess here is Chris Sale, who had 178 strikeouts in the first half, will be the first to do it.

Tebow to get call-up?

Tim Tebow isn’t going to make his big league debut this season, no matter what speculative fans and armchair scouts say on Twitter.

That’s what Mets GM Sandy Alderson seemed to indicate recently, when asked by reporters whether the 29-year-old former football star’s recent success at the plate might translate into a September call-up.

“Never crossed my mind until about 10 days ago when somebody said it was likely to happen,” Alderson said (via ESPN). “I don’t foresee that kind of scenario.”

The question isn’t completely far-fetched, at least as much as it would have been a month ago when the Heisman Trophy winner turned minor leaguer was struggling in the low-Class A South Atlantic League. Tebow is hitting .321 since his promotion to the advancedClass A St. Lucie Mets.

And at this point, would it surprise anyone if New York’s Labor Day giveaway is a Tebow bobblehead?

More star power

Michael Jordan is joining Derek Jeter’s group to buy the Marlins, while rapper Pitbull (Armando Christian Perez) is teaming with Jeb Bush’s group. Another group is led by Jorge Mas, a local businessman who may be the favorite.

No matter who wins the bidding, the real winner is Jeffrey Loria, the current owner who will get $1.2 billion or so for a team that never has been able to develop a strong following.

“We have three viable bidding groups that are essentially in the same place in terms of price,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said, adding he was “pretty confident that it will happen in the relatively near future.”

The list

Best run differential at the All-Star break (since 1933; source: Dodgers).

2017 Dodgers plus-163 1944 Cardinals plus-159 1976 Reds plus-154 1942 Dodgers plus-151 1975 Reds plus-151

Fact check

— Cubs pitchers — including Jose Quintana — among the top 13 in total innings over the last three calendar years (through the All-Star break). The quartet: Jake Arrieta (eighth, 613⅔), Jon Lester (ninth, 613⅓), Quintana (11th, 606⅔), and John Lackey (13th, 585⅔).