LOS ANGELES — It took 100 pitches and six innings, but Clayton Kershaw finally notched the three strikeouts the Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander needed to become the 20th pitcher in major league history to reach 3,000 strikeouts Wednesday night.
The White Sox roughed up Kershaw for four runs and seven hits, including a two-run homer and a triple by Austin Slater, in the first three innings, and though Kershaw reached two-strike counts on 13 batters through five, he struck out only two, Miguel Vargas with his 51st pitch in the third and Lenyn Sosa with his 92nd pitch in the fifth.
But shortly after a violent collision in which Chicago center fielder Michael A. Taylor knocked out Dodgers third Max Muncy with a helmet-to-left-knee slide on a stolen-base attempt, Kershaw whiffed No. 9 batter Vinny Capra looking at an 85-mph slider on the outside corner for strikeout No. 3,000.
Strikeout No. 3,000!
Clayton Kershaw becomes the 20th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to record 3,000 career strikeouts. pic.twitter.com/mD7tM1POJC
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 3, 2025
Kershaw exhaled and walked off the mound slowly before doffing his cap and tapping his chest as a sellout crowd of 53,536 in Dodger Stadium showered him with cheers.
Kershaw exchanged handshakes and hugs with teammates in front of the third-base dugout before a tribute video played on the stadium scoreboards. He yielded to reliever Lou Trivino to start the seventh inning with the White Sox holding a two-run lead.
But they would give it up in the ninth, when the Dodgers scored three times, capped by Freddie Freeman’s walk-off single with two outs to give the defending World Series champs a 5-4 victory.
But the night was really about Kershaw.
“It’s the last box for Clayton to check in his tremendous career,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “To be able to do it at home in front of our fans … he’s never been a person to look for acknowledgement or attention, but he’s earned that whether he likes it or not.”
Kershaw, limited by shoulder surgery to seven starts in 2024 and by knee and foot surgeries to nine starts this season, entered Wednesday with a 216-94 career record, 2.51 ERA and 2,997 strikeouts in 18 big-league seasons.
A three-time National League Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL most valuable player, Kershaw, 37, has always prioritized winning and team goals over individual accolades. But Roberts could sense that one factor motivating Kershaw to work so hard to return from injuries and play this season was to reach 3,000 strikeouts.
“It’s like he’s at mile 26, there’s point-2 left, and he can see the finish line,” Roberts said before the game. “He’s won two championships, and he wants to finish this marathon. He’s three strikeouts away, and he can smell it. He wants to get this over with.”
Kershaw is one of only four left-handers to record 3,000 strikeouts, joining Randy Johnson (4,875 strikeouts), Steve Carlton (4,136) and CC Sabathia (3,093).
He is one of three players in major league history to reach the 3,000-strikeout milestone having played for one team in his entire career, joining Walter Johnson (3,509 strikeouts for the Washington Senators from 1907-27) and Bob Gibson (3,127 strikeouts for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959-75).
“I haven’t been a part of his journey for his entire career,” said Roberts, who is in his 10th year as the Dodgers’ field boss. “So for the Dodger faithful, I think you really appreciate that they’ve been on this journey with him for 18 years. It’s pretty cool.”
Roberts, 53, never faced Kershaw during his 10-year career as a big-league outfielder, but he does remember seeing Kershaw pitch an inning in San Francisco on Sept. 28, 2008, the season Kershaw broke into the major leagues as a 20-year-old and Roberts played his last season with the Giants.
“I remember early on, they were talking about this next Sandy Koufax guy, this big left-hander who really didn’t have an idea where the ball was going, but was pretty special,” Roberts said. “We crossed paths just briefly, but it’s much better to be wearing the same uniform as him.”
Koufax went 165-87 with a 2.76 ERA and 2,396 strikeouts in a 12-year career that was cut short by arm injuries in 1966, when Koufax was 30. He has long been considered the best pitcher in Dodgers history, but could Kershaw have surpassed Koufax in the pantheon of Dodgers pitchers?
“Wow, that’s a tough one,” Roberts said. “I honestly can’t speak to it. Obviously, Sandy is Sandy. You have [Don] Drysdale. I haven’t put their numbers [side by side], but you’re talking about 18 years, the career, the body of work. It’s hard to not say that Clayton is the greatest Dodger of all time. He’s a unicorn.”