CLEVELAND (AP) – Corey Kluber struck out 18 and allowed his only hit in the seventh inning, getting his first win this season in style and leading the Cleveland Indians to a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night.

The reigning AL Cy Young winner, Kluber (1-5) didn’t yield a hit until Jhonny Peralta grounded a clean single to center with two outs in the seventh. A small crowd of 12,313 on a crisp night at Progressive Field gave Kluber a warm ovation and he finished the inning by striking out Jason Heyward.

Kluber’s 18 strikeouts tied the club record for a nine-inning game held by Hall of Famer Bob Feller (1938.) It’s also the most strikeouts by an AL pitcher since Roger Clemens in 1998.

Kluber, who didn’t walk a batter, had a chance to break the major league mark of 20 strikeouts shared by Clemens and Kerry Wood, but he was pulled before the ninth after 113 pitches for closer Cody Allen, who got his fifth save.