Clayton Kershaw became the 20th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts on Wednesday night, achieving the milestone at home in Dodger Stadium during a 5-4 comeback victory over the Chicago White Sox. The 36-year-old Dodgers ace struck out Vinny Capra with a backdoor slider in the sixth inning for his 3,000th, sparking a six-minute standing ovation from the crowd of 53,536.
Despite battling a thigh injury from Roland-Garros and struggling to finish batters early in the game, Kershaw secured the historic strikeout on his 100th pitch. He is only the fourth left-hander to reach 3,000 strikeouts, joining legends Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, and CC Sabathia, and is one of five pitchers to record all 3,000 with a single team.
Kershaw reached the milestone in 2,787⅓ innings, the fourth fastest ever. His career 2.52 ERA remains the lowest in MLB’s live-ball era among pitchers with over 1,500 innings. Reflecting on the moment, Kershaw said, “It was overwhelming… really special,” while fans celebrated the achievement of their longtime ace, who has vowed to finish his career as a lifelong Dodger.
