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Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw made history on Wednesday night as he joined the exclusive 3,000 strikeout club. Kershaw is the 20th player to pull off the feat, and he did it against the Chicago White Sox. Kershaw came into the game needing just three strikeouts to reach 3,000, so it seemed like it would be pretty easy to achieve. However, it came right down to the wire as Kershaw didn't get that third strikeout until the final batter that he faced.
Clayton Kershaw didn't have his best stuff on Wednesday night, but he still found a way to get the strikeouts that he needed. It was the top of the sixth inning, and there were two outs. Everyone knew that Kershaw wasn't going to come out for the seventh as he had thrown nearly 100 pitches, and he finished at exactly 100 when he recorded his 3,000th career strikeout.
“I made it interesting for sure,” Kershaw said after the game, according to an article from Dodger Insider.
Kershaw has been playing Major League Baseball since 2008. He has spent his entire career with the Dodgers, and he has experienced the highs and the lows with this fanbase. Kershaw achieving this milestone in front of the home crowd was pretty cool to see.
“We’ve been through it. We have,” Kershaw said of his relationship with Dodger fans. “I’ve been through it. A lot of ups and downs here. More downs than I care to admit. But the fans tonight, it really meant a lot. And usually I try not to acknowledge anything before the game because I’m trying to lock it in a little bit. But it was too hard tonight. It was overwhelming to feel that.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts compared the energy in the stadium on Wednesday to that of a playoff game. The fans showed out in full support for Kershaw.
“Our fans have been with him since he was 20 years old making his debut,” Dave Roberts said. “So they’ve seen the whole evolution. They’ve been with him every step of the way. The buzz tonight felt a little bit like a playoff game. … Our fans are certainly invested in №22 — and rightfully so.”
Kershaw wasn't at his best on the night that he reached 3,000, but he wouldn't change a thing.
“I told my teammates individual awards are great, but if you don’t have anybody to celebrate with, it just doesn’t matter,” Kershaw said. “This was such a special night, all the way around. I couldn’t have asked for anything more really.”
The Dodgers did go on to win the game as a late comeback led to a 5-4 victory. Everything ended up going LA's way on the night that Clayton Kershaw hit 3K.
