seasons, when Keefe, who also went on to win more than 300 games, began getting a greater share of the starts. The duo would only enjoy moderate success over the course of three seasons with the Trojans, a team that never finished higher than fourth in the National League during its four-season run. After the Trojans disbanded after the 1882 season, the New York Gothams replaced them, taking many of the Troy players, including Welch. He resumed a heavy workload in 1883, throwing 426 innings in 54 games. This time he split pitching duties with John Montgomery Ward in what turned out to be Ward's final season as a regular pitcher. In 1884, he went 39–21 with 345 strikeouts (a franchise record) and a 2.50 ERA. Strikeout record Welch holds the record for most consecutive batters struck out to begin a game, with nine, set on August 28, 1884. The record was not recognized for many years because of confusion over a dropped third strike. In the third inning of that game, a third strike was dropped by New York catcher Bill Loughran. As a result, that batter safely reached first base. Though modern scorekeeping credits a pitcher with a strikeout in this situation, such an event was not always recorded as a strikeout by sportswriters of that era. Baseball historian Harry Simmons helped Welch to receive official recognition of the feat in the 1940s. Only three pitchers in the National League and two in the American League have come close to matching Mickey Welch's record nine strikeouts. In the National League, Germán Márquez of the Colorado Rockies on September 26, 2018, Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets in 2014, and Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros in 1986 struck out the first eight batters they faced. In the American League, Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox in 2016 and Joe Cowley of the Chicago White Sox in 1986 struck out the first seven batters they faced. Tom Seaver struck out 10 consecutive batters in 1970, though not at the beginning of the game. Middle career In 1885, he went 44–11 with 258 strikeouts and a 1.66 ERA. In the 1885 season, Welch and Keefe reunited as a two-man pitching rotation, with Keefe having a 32–13 win–loss record. The team, now called the Giants, had an incredible record of 85–27, with Welch winning 17 consecutive games at one