Jacob deGrom struck out 10 over eight scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, lowering his ERA to 1.70 on the season.

deGrom also recorded the 1,000th strikeout of his career when he punched out his final batter, Ozzie Albies.

"I'm really excited with how the night went," deGrom said. "I had the goal to get to that tonight. It was a lot cooler to get my 1,000th strikeout on my last pitch of the year than my first batter next year."

The New York Mets right-hander is a candidate for the National League Cy Young award.

He has just 10 wins, but finished with a record 24 quality starts.