The Yankees and Cubs set an MLB record for combined strikeouts in a game Sunday during the longest game of the MLB season.
CHICAGO — The Yankees and Cubs broke a major league record for combined strikeouts in a game with 48 on Sunday night in New York’s 5-4 victory in 18 innings.
The record fell when New York catcher Austin Romine became the game’s 44th strikeout in the 17th inning while facing Cubs reliever Pedro Strop .
Four more K’s pushed the total to 48 as the game stretched into the 18th inning, making it the MLB’s longest of the season by innings. It was also the first interleague game to go 18 innings and longest in game time at 6 hours, five minutes in the history of Sunday Night Baseball, since the series began in 1990.
The previous record of 43 was set in a 20-inning game between the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics in 1971.
Editor’s Picks Let’s play two: Yankees beat Cubs 5-4 in 18 innings
Starlin Castro drove in Aaron Hicks with a fielder’s choice in the 18th inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 early Monday morning in the majors’ longest interleague game eve
Yankees Aaron Hicks and Chase Headley each struck out four times, with five Cubs striking out three times — Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell and Willson Contreras .
Starlin Castro drove in Hicks with a fielder’s choice in the 18th for the go-ahead run. Hicks led off with a bunt single against Strop (0-2) and advanced to second when the Cubs’ catcher, Contreras, threw it into right field for an error.
With one out and Hicks on third, Castro hit a bouncer up the middle. Russell tried to throw home, but it was wide and Hicks scored easily.
Chasen Shreve (1-0) pitched three scoreless innings, striking out pinch-hitting pitcher Kyle Hendricks with runners on first and second for the final out in New York’s fifth straight win.
The Yanks (20-9) completed a three-game sweep of the Cubs (16-5) with the win for their first sweep of a defending champion on the road since the 2003 Angels. New York also moved to 11 games over .500 — the most games over .500 the Yanks were all of last season (last on Sept. 10) .
Chicago trailed 4-1 before it rallied in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman, who helped the Cubs win the World Series last year for the first time since 1908. Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez each singled in a run before Chapman hit slumping slugger Anthony Rizzo on his left wrist with the bases loaded on his 36th pitch, forcing home the tying run.
The majors’ previous longest game of the season was the Mets’ 9-8 victory over the Marlins in 16 innings on April 13.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report.
