Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw became the 20th member of MLB’s 3,000-strikeout club on Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox.
Kershaw, 37, struck out Vinny Capra in the sixth inning, his third strikeout of the game, to join a list featuring Hall of Famers including Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens and Bob Gibson and two pitchers who will head to Cooperstown in the future in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. Kershaw was just three short of the mark entering Wednesday’s game at Dodger Stadium.
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After reaching a 1-1 count vs. Capra, Kershaw got a swinging strike, then a called strike on a backdoor slider to exit the inning and enter history.
Dodger Stadium spent the time between innings giving Kershaw a standing ovation, eventually receiving a curtain call after the southpaw hugged nearly everyone in the dugout.
It wasn’t the most graceful night for Kershaw, though. Three strikeouts sounds like a layup when he’s healthy, but he didn’t get his first strikeout until the third inning, and his second strikeout didn’t come until the end of the fifth. Meanwhile, the AL-worst White Sox tagged him for nine hits and four earned runs in his six innings of work.
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Kershaw set a new season high with 15 whiffs and ran up two-strike counts in 15 at-bats, but the actual strikeouts were perplexingly difficult to come by. He got there in the end, though not before a seemingly serious injury to third baseman Max Muncy took some of the air out of the crowd earlier in the sixth.
The Dodgers later came back with a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 walkoff win, so Kershaw still got to celebrate a win along with his personal milestone.
The White Sox had their own reaction to the turn of events.
Prior to Kershaw’s accomplishment, Scherzer was the most recent member to join the 3,000-strikeout club, recording his 3,000th career strikeout during the 2021 season.
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In addition to being the newest member of the 3,000-strikeout club, Kershaw is 17 wins away from tying Don Sutton for most in Dodgers franchise history. He is already the franchise’s all-time leader in strikeouts and one of only three pitchers on the 3,000 list to do it with a single team, alongside Bob Gibson and Walter Johnson.
Wednesday was Kershaw’s ninth start of the season. He missed the first month and a half while rehabbing from surgeries on his foot and knee that he underwent in November.
Kershaw began his MLB career with the Dodgers in 2008. He’s a 10-time All-Star and three-time NL Cy Young Award winner. He was voted NL MVP in 2014 and helped the franchise to World Series titles in 2020 and 2024.
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The first strikeout of his career came during his MLB debut on May 25, 2008, against the St. Louis Cardinals. Kershaw struck out Skip Schumaker, the first batter he faced.
MLB’s 3,000-strikeout club
1. Nolan Ryan: 5,714
2. Randy Johnson: 4,875
3. Roger Clemens: 4,672
4. Steve Carlton: 4,136
5. Bert Blyleven: 3,701
6. Tom Seaver: 3,640
7. Don Sutton 3,574
8. Gaylord Perry: 3,534
9. Walter Johnson: 3,515
10. *Justin Verlander: 3,468
11. *Max Scherzer: 3,412
12. Greg Maddux: 3,371
13. Phil Niekro: 3,342
14. Fergie Jenkins: 3,192
15. Pedro Martinez: 3,154
16. Bob Gibson: 3,117
17. Curt Schilling: 3,116
18. CC Sabathia: 3,093
19. John Smoltz: 3,084
20. *Clayton Kershaw: 3,000
*active
