LOS ANGELES – Agonizing.
Excruciating.
Tortuous.
At times it was that tough watching Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw on the mound before the magical moment
Kershaw became the 20th pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters and he did it against the lowly Chicago White Sox – the hard way.
Entering the game needing only three strikeouts to reach the milestone, Kershaw labored through six innings. Until on his 100th pitch, he recorded strikeout No. 3,000.
Kershaw, 37, left with the Dodgers trailing the Chicago White Sox 4-2 – and the home crowd roaring after his achievement. He was on the hook for the loss until the Dodgers rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth, earning a 5-4 win with Freddie Freeman’s walk-off single.
‘Honestly didn’t pitch that great tonight,” Kershaw said after the game. ‘Slider was so bad. But this was such a special night all the way around. It really was. Couldn’t have asked for anything more really. It just was so fun to get to be out there.”
Kershaw is not flawless, given his share of postseason struggles. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was spot on before the game when he called Kershaw “a unicorn.’
The Dodgers clubhouse also happens to be occupied by baseball’s ultimate unicorn – Shohei Ohtani. He’s the ultimate two-way superstar, recently throwing a 102 mph fastball and at 30 already having won three MVP awards.
But Kershaw has done something Ohtani can’t match.
In fact, there’s a chance no player ever will.
It starts with loyalty.
Tommy Lasorda, the late Dodgers manager insisted he bled Dodger Blue. There’s no need to check Kershaw’s veins. Clearly, he’s a blueblood.
He has spent his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers, and joining the exclusive club of pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts further underscored how rare that is.
Of the 20 pitchers in the 3,000 club, only Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson got there while playing exclusively with one club – Johnson with the Washington Senators and Gibson with the St. Louis Cardinals.
‘I don’t know if I put a ton of stock in being with one team early on,” said Kershaw, who was selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2006 MLB Draft. ‘Just kind of something that happened and over time. I think as you get older and you appreciate one organization a little bit more.
‘And the Dodgers are 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. … I have a lot more appreciation for it now.”
Kershaw’s on-field contributions to the Dodgers put him in rare company. Ten All-Star appearances. Three Cy Young awards. Two World Series rings.
Entering Wednesday, he had a 216-94 career record and a ERA of 2.51.
Roberts said Kershaw also has an impact on the younger pitchers on the Dodgers’ staff.
“A lot guys grab him, get his ear,’ Roberts said. “But for the most part, I think that’s just kind of how he goes about it. He’s always talking the game. He’s watching the game. More importantly, he’s very consistent.
“Even yesterday I was watching in the pen, he was doing his dry work (practicing skills without using a ball) and this is something he’s done for 18 years the day before a start.’’
Roberts said Kershaw had the 3,000-strikeout milestone in mind when he decided to return to the Dodgers in 2025. But before the season started, Kershaw underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and a ruptured plantar plate in his left big toe.
Recovering, Kershaw did not make his first start until May 17. He entered the historic game 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA and with 29 strikeouts in 38 ⅔ innings pitched this season.
It’s more than many people expected from a veteran who’s grown more brittle, and, Roberts said, “A reminder for me for anyone to never bet against that guy.’
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
