Wake Up With Kerry Wood's Record Tying Performance, 20 Ks In A 9 Inning Game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pulci_SBVHk
In honor of the Red Line Radio guys going full-time, we're doing back-to-back Chicago Cubs Wake Ups. Sorry Dave, no White Sox, just straight HEAT from Kerry Wood. Wood striking out 20 Astros back in 1998 is in my opinion one of the most dominating games ever, including no-hitters and perfect games and all that. A 20 K, 1 hit outing is insane.
Wood struck out 5 straight to start the game, some guys you may have heard about, Craig Biggio, Derek Bell, Jeff Bagel, and Moises Alou. Some decent names there.Not to mention the fact that Wood was a rookie this season. Hey rook, how about a 20 K game in your fifth career big league start? Sounds like a piece of cake.
The Cubs only won by a score of 2-0, so it's not like it was a blowout and the Astros were just up there swinging, they were in the game, they just couldn't touch Wood. You look at that first inning and you can see that he has no-hitter stuff, he just missed the no-no, but I think he'd take the 20 K game. He did need 122 pitches for the 20 Ks, but a high pitch count is to be expected if you're ringing everyone up.
I remember watching this highlight when I was a kid and thinking Wood would be one of the best, I thought he was Clemens 2.0. While I may have been a little off on that, he was still a damn good pitcher, and one of only four guys to have 20 Ks in a 9 inning game. Clemens of course did it twice, and Randy Johnson did it in an 11 inning game.
It's an insanely impressive feat, and I'm really surprised we've only seen it once since then, Max Scherzer back in 2016. It doesn't surprise me that it was Mad Max, but at the rate guys are striking out, I'm surprised it hasn't happened more. Probably has more to do with the fact that pitchers aren't throwing complete games now, a game this close, you'll probably have a manager pull him for a closer.
You've got to wonder if we see another game like this anytime soon, who's gonna be the next guy to strikeout 20? If I'm a gambling man, I'm saying Mad Max does it again.