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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw recorded his 3,000th career strikeout, becoming the 20th player in Major League Baseball history to accomplish the feat.
Kershaw struck out Chicago White Sox infielder Vinny Capra on 1 -2 pitch with his team trailing, 4-2, to record the final out of the top of the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium Wednesday (July 2) night. The 37-year-old entered Wednesday's game with 2,997 strikeouts, striking out Miguel Vargas swinging in the top of the third and Lenyn Sosa swinging in the top of the fifth.
Kershaw ranks 20th all-time and third among MLB active pitchers in career strikeouts behind only Justin Verlander, who ranks 10th all-time with 3,471 strikeouts, and Max Scherzer, who ranks 11th all-time with 3,419 strikeouts.
Kershaw's 3,000th strikeout also came in 2,787 1/3 innings, having come in the fourth-fastest span of any pitcher, trailing only Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson (2,470 2/3), Scherzer (2,516), and Baseball Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez (2,647 2/3) according to data from the Elias Sports Bureau via ESPN. The Texas native has spent his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers, having won two World Series championships, the 2014 National League MVP award, three NL Cy Young Awards (2011, 2013, 2014) and making 10 All-Star Game appearances.
Kershaw won the pitching Triple Crown in 2011 and led the NL in wins three times (2011, 2014, 2017), ERA five times (2011-14, 2017) and strikeouts three times (2011, 2013, 2015).
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