A legendary legacy: Clayton Kershaw brings up historic MLB milestone

Clayton Kershaw has long cemented his legacy as one of Major League Baseball’s all-time greats.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner, two-time World Series champion, and the 2014 National League MVP, the veteran Los Angeles Dodgers ace added another milestone to his illustrious résumé on Wednesday: 3,000 career strikeouts.

A member of an exclusive MLB club

Kershaw became just the 20th pitcher in MLB history to reach the 3,000-strikeout mark, achieving the feat by earning the three he needed against the Chicago White Sox.

The game didn’t start smoothly for the left-hander. The White Sox tagged him for three hits and a run in the first inning. Fortunately for Kershaw, his defense stepped up - Andy Pages and Michael Conforto made key plays in the outfield, while Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman combined for a slick play at first to help limit the damage.

After Will Smith tied the game with a solo homer, Kershaw delivered a scoreless second inning, though he didn’t record a strikeout. Mike Tauchman, Michael A. Taylor, and Vinny Capra all failed to reach base, and Chicago made a pitching change, replacing Brandon Eisert with Sean Burke. On Burke’s very first pitch, Pages launched a home run out of Dodger Stadium.

Kershaw ran into more trouble in the third when Austin Slater took him deep for a two-run shot. Still, the highlight of the inning came when Miguel Vargas became strikeout number 2,998. Despite allowing a fourth run, Kershaw stayed on the mound and worked through the rest of the frame.

Kershaw brings up milestone mark

The fourth inning passed without incident, and in the fifth, Kershaw notched strikeout number 2,999 by freezing Lenyn Sosa with a nasty curveball that dropped into the dirt after a couple of foul balls.

Then came the moment of history. In the sixth inning, Kershaw caught Vinny Capra looking at a slider that clipped the edge of the strike zone, sealing his place in the 3,000-strikeout club.

Kershaw’s night ended after six full innings. He threw 100 pitches - 67 for strikes - allowing four runs, walking one, and striking out five. Lou Trivino took over in relief, but the night belonged to Kershaw, who once again etched his name into the record books.

Pitchers with 3,000 MLB strikeouts:

• Nolan Ryan
• Randy Johnson
• Roger Clemens
• Steve Carlton
• Bert Blyleven
• Tom Seaver
• Don Sutton
• Gaylord Perry
• Walter Johnson
• Justin Verlander
• Max Scherzer
• Greg Maddux
• Phil Niekro
• Ferguson Jenkins
• Pedro Martinez
• Bob Gibson
• Curt Schilling
• CC Sabathia
• John Smoltz
• Clayton Kershaw

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