Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw became the 20th pitcher in major league history to register 3,000 career strikeouts when he set down the Chicago White Sox’s Vinny Capra to end the sixth inning on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Kershaw, 37, became just the fourth left-handed pitcher to reach the milestone, joining Randy Johnson (4,875), Steve Carlton (4,136) and CC Sabathia (3,093).
Nolan Ryan is the all-time strikeout leader at 5,714.
Kershaw entered the game needing three strikeouts to reach the mark. He fanned former teammate Miguel Vargas in the third inning and got Lenyn Sosa for the final out of the fifth.
After whiffing Capra, Kershaw walked off the field and tipped his cap to the home crowd before getting hugs and handshakes from his teammates. It was his last batter of the game after throwing a season-high 100 pitches.
Kershaw gave up four runs on nine hits and a walk, leaving with the Dodgers trailing 4-2. Los Angeles scored three times in the ninth inning for a 5-4 win.
The milestone strikeout came one batter after Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy departed the game with an apparent left knee injury that occurred as he tagged out Michael A. Taylor on a stolen-base attempt.
Kershaw is the third active pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts, as he now stands alongside Justin Verlander (3,471) and Max Scherzer (3,419). Scherzer reached 3,000 as a member of the Dodgers in September 2021.
Only two other pitchers reached 3,000 entirely with one team: Bob Gibson (St. Louis Cardinals) and Walter Johnson (Washington Nationals).
“If you look at the odds of doing it with the same team, the margins are very small to happen like this,” Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “The Dodgers faithful can really appreciate that they’ve been on this journey with Clayton for 18 years, so it’s pretty cool.”
In 441 career appearances (438 starts), Kershaw is 216-94 with a 2.52 ERA. The 10-time All-Star won NL Cy Young Awards in 2011, 2013 and 2014, and he was chosen the NL’s Most Valuable Player in 2014. Kershaw helped the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series, but he missed the 2024 postseason due to injury during Los Angeles’ title run.
–Field Level Media
