Karl Triana authored the RailCats’ only no-hitter, snapping a 15-year drought with his masterpiece on June 2.
His stuff was even more electric Friday night at the Steel Yard as he set the franchise record for strikeouts in a game with 14.
The confluence of circumstances was bizarre.
Winnepeg batters struck out 22 times and were one short of the American Association record. Railcats catcher Jaime Del Valle needed one more putout to match the league mark.
Yet they lost to Winnipeg, 7-4 in 11 innings.
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Triana amassed his strikeouts in six shutout innings, allowing four hits and three walks.
He broke the mark of 13 shared by Graham Mazur in 2002 and Jason Shelley in 2006.
The 23-year-old right-hander from Colombia didn’t know until after the game that he made team history.
“I’m happy for myself, but we lost,” Triana said, with Venezuelan right-hander Richard Castillo acting as interpreter. “I’ve been working hard. All the pitchers work to get records or do something different when they’re on the mound.
“You’re trying to make pitches and pitch a good game. A pitcher’s trying to get outs any way he can. They came this way.”
The strikeouts came fast and furious for Triana.
He had six after two innings and recorded two in each of the next four.
Triana last pitched on July 29 due to the All-Star Break and seemed strong from the outset.
He cracked 90 mph in the first inning and still was able to reach back for something extra late. With his fastball popping, he mixed that with his changeup early, then added a breaking ball as the game progressed.
Triana impressed RailCats manager Greg Tagert.
“What a performance,” Tagert said. “He was dominating. I’m not going to sit here and compare it to the major leagues, but as far as just dominating hitters in a good lineup, that was it.”
After Triana’s exit, the RailCats pitchers continued to pile up strikeouts.
Moises Melendez struck out three in the seventh, preserving a 1-0 lead by escaping a bases-loaded, one-out jam.
Travis McGee added two in the eighth despite surrendering four runs.
Jorge De Leon had three as the former major leaguer pitched the final three innings.
In a twist considering the number of strikeouts, Tagert was ejected for arguing balls and strikes with two outs in the ninth. He got down on his knees to show where the ball crossed the plate, which he proceeded to cover with dirt.
DeLeon wound up walking the batter, but struck out the next to close the inning with the RailCats’ 21st strikeout.
Winnipeg scored three runs in the 11th before DeLeon registered the team’s 22nd strikeout to match Wichita’s total during a 15-inning game against El Paso in 2011. Sioux City set the league record with 23 on June 28 in a 5-4, 17-inning loss to Fargo-Moorhead.
Tagert said Triana deserved better.
He remained 4-4 and lowered his ERA to 3.50, with 79 strikeouts in 105 1/3 innings. His ability exceeds the statistics, Tagert said.
Tagert has received calls from affiliated organizations about Triana, who spent three seasons with the Diamondbacks organization. He’s still young enough to pitch at Class A, but could compete at AA, Tagert said.
“He’s the one guy that I would recommend to scouts who cover the independent leagues, you have to come see him in person,” Tagert said.
“Probably the only thing lacking for him is just that consistency from inning to inning. But he can be extremely good.”
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Up next: Winnipeg (Edwin Carl 6-5) at RailCats (Charle Rosario 7-3), 2:10 p.m. Sunday, WEFM-FM 95.9.