Clayton Kershaw gets 3,000th strikeout in Dodgers’ walk-off win

LOS ANGELES — You can’t spell Kershaw without a K. A total of 3,000 of them to be exact.

On a night when he was far from his best, Clayton Kershaw still authored a defining moment when he became the 20th major league pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts, and just the fourth left-hander, when he sat down the Chicago White Sox’s Vinny Capra to end the top of the sixth inning on Wednesday night.

The milestone strikeout came on a 1-and-2 count as Capra struck out looking on a signature slider. It was Kershaw’s 100th pitch and the final batter of his six-inning outing.

The sellout crowd of 53,536 was on its feet roaring as the 37-year-old left-hander walked off the mound. He paused and doffed his cap, with teammates gathered in front of the dugout briefly holding off hugging him to allow him to soak in the cheers.

Kershaw, who has spent his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers, waved to his wife and four children in the stands and then patted his chest and mouthed, “Thank you.”

The game was delayed for nearly six minutes between pitches, a gap that included a tribute video.

The party was just beginning, as the Dodgers pulled off a three-run rally in the ninth inning and earned a 5-4 victory on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off single to right field that scored Shohei Ohtani.

“It’s a little bit harder when you’re actually trying to strike people out. I never really had to do that before,” Kershaw admitted afterward. “And give the White Sox credit too. They didn’t make it easy on me at all. So it was a tough night all the way around but what a way to end it with Freddie coming up clutch there.”

Ohtani pulled the Dodgers within 4-3 in the ninth when Michael Conforto scored on his fielder’s choice grounder. Mookie Betts tied the score at 4-4 on a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left-center. Ohtani helped set up the winning run when he stole second base, his 12th of the season.

Will Smith and Andy Pages hit early home runs as the Dodgers improved to 8-1 since June 22.

Kershaw’s historic moment helped erase some of the concern after third baseman Max Muncy departed with a left knee injury immediately before Kershaw struck out Capra. Muncy was injured while tagging out Michael A. Taylor on a stolen-base attempt.

“A lot of the tests that they did right now, we feel optimistic,” Roberts said. “And I think that our hope is that it’s a sprain. So obviously, for the next few days, I’m sure he’ll probably be down, but the MRI (Thursday) will show more.”

With the crowd in full roar from the very first strike, Kershaw sat down former teammate Miguel Vargas for his first strikeout in the fourth inning, then sat down Lenyn Sosa for the final out of the top of the fifth.

“Running back out there for the sixth and hearing that crowd roar was up there for me in special moments. It really was,” Kershaw said.

Roberts had said before the game that he would manage his pitcher differently with the milestone within reach. That was apparent when Kershaw jogged out for the sixth, having already tossed a season-high-tying 92 pitches with just two strikeouts. He came into the game needing three to make history.

Kershaw got Capra looking on his 100th pitch with home-plate umpire Jim Wolf signaling the called third strike and setting off the night’s first celebration. Wolf is the brother of retired pitcher Randy Wolf, once a teammate of Kershaw’s.

“Just super thankful for tonight, super thankful for my teammates,” Kershaw said. “I told my teammates individual awards are great, but if you don’t have anybody to celebrate with, it just doesn’t matter. And to have that room full of guys, coaches, strength staff, training staff, front office, everybody just really happy for me was just awesome. And they were in it with me. It was an amazing night. So just a lot of gratefulness on this end, for sure.”

Roberts admitted afterward that Capra would have been Kershhaw’s last batter of the game, even if he didn’t record his 3,000th strikeout.

When the long round number finally in his back pocket, the crowd responded with the lengthy standing ovation.

“We’ve been through it,” Kershaw said of his relationship with Dodgers fans. “I’ve been through a lot, ups and downs here. More downs than I care to admit, you know. But the fans tonight, it really meant a lot.

“Usually I try not to acknowledge anything before the game, just because I try to lock it in a little bit. But it was too hard not to tonight. It was overwhelming to feel that. I don’t have a lot of great words other than that it was just really special.”

Smith’s home run tied the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the first and Pages’ homer in the second gave the Dodgers a brief 2-1 lead. Chicago went on top in a three-run third inning that included a two-run home run from Austin Slater off Kershaw.

Already headed for the Hall of Fame when his playing days are done, Kershaw’s 3,000 milestone goes on a sparkling resume that includes a National League MVP award in 2014, and NL Cy Young honors in 2011, 2013 and 2014.

The two-time World Series champion is a 10-time All-Star, who also holds the Dodgers’ franchise record for strikeouts.

“I think I can speak for everyone, we’re kind of waiting in anticipation, chance for history,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game. “It’s the last box for Clayton to check in his tremendous career.

“To potentially be able to do it at home in front of our fans, I think we’re all looking forward to that. He’s never been a person to look for kind of acknowledgement or attention, but he’s earned that whether he likes it or not.”

CC Sabathia (3,093), Steve Carlton (4,136) and Randy Johnson (4,875) and the only left-handers with more strikeouts than Kershaw. Right-hander Nolan Ryan is the all-time strikeout leader at 5,714.

Max Scherzer recorded his 3,000th strikeout in a Dodgers uniform in September of 2021. He is one of just two active pitchers with more strikeouts than Kershaw at 3,419. Justin Verlander has 3,417.

Kershaw’s first career strikeout came in his May 25, 2008, debut at home against the St. Louis Cardinals when he set down Skip Schumacher swinging on four pitches to open the game.

His 1,000th strikeout came at home against the San Diego Padres’ Yonder Alonso on April 17, 2013. No. 2,000 came on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers’ Jonathan Villar on June 2, 2018.

Kershaw’s lone no-hitter also came at Dodger Stadium on June 18, 2014, when he had 15 strikeouts against the Colorado Rockies.

“I think as you get older and you appreciate (being in) one organization a little bit more,” Kershaw said. “The Dodgers have stuck with me, too. It hasn’t been all roses, I know that. So there’s just a lot of mutual respect, I think, and I’m super grateful now, looking back, to get to say that I spent my whole career here and I will spend my whole career here. I have a lot more appreciation for it now, for sure.”

Kershaw is making history at a time when he’s provided much-needed stability for the Dodgers’ pitching staff, which has been decimated by injuries this season.

“It’s just again a reminder for me, for anyone, to never bet against that guy,” Roberts said. “It doesn’t matter – health, stuff – he’s going to will himself to doing whatever the team needs.”

Age and less dominant stuff have changed the way Kershaw does his job. He knows his consistency isn’t the same but with the depth of the team’s staff, he doesn’t need to be perfect every outing.

Kershaw no longer overpowers hitters the way he did during the height of his career, but he remains stubbornly determined and possesses a craftiness honed over 18 seasons as well as a slider that can still fool.

“I’ve seen him grow more than any player,” Roberts said before the game. “Hasn’t lost the compete, but I think that the world is not as black and white as he used to see it. I think that his edges are softer, I think that fatherhood, Father Time, does that to a person.”

In his prime from 2010 to 2015, Kershaw led the National League in ERA five times, in strikeouts three times and wins twice.

Kershaw had one of the best seasons ever in 2014, when he finished with a 21-3 record, 1.77 ERA and 233 strikeouts to win both the NL Cy Young and MVP awards.

This season, the Texas-born Kershaw tied the franchise record for most seasons in Dodger blue, joining outfielder Zack Wheat and shortstop Bill Russell.

“He’s just such a great person, great father, great husband, a man of faith, great Dodger,” Roberts said, “arguably one of the greatest of all time.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

3,000 STRIKEOUT CLUB

Nolan Ryan – 5,714

Randy Johnson – 4,875

Roger Clemens – 4,672

Steve Carlton – 4,136

Bert Blyleven – 3,701

Tom Seaver – 3,640

Don Sutton – 3,574

Gaylord Perry – 3,534

Walter Johnson – 3,509

x- Justin Verlander – 3,468

x-Max Scherzer – 3,412

Greg Maddux – 3,371

Phil Niekro – 3,342

Ferguson Jenkins – 3,192

Pedro Martinez – 3,154

Bob Gibson – 3,117

Curt Schilling – 3,116

CC Sabathia — 3,093

John Smoltz – 3,084

x-Clayton Kershaw – 3,000

x = active