Los Angeles (AP) It was Clayton Kershaw, working hard to record his 3,000th strikeout. He needed one more swing and miss to become the 20th pitcher to reach the milestone, and his pitch count was skyrocketing as he faced the final batter.
He grinned and remarked, “It’s a little harder when you’re actually trying to strike people out.” That was something I had never really had to do.
When Vinny Capra of the Chicago White Sox took a slider for a called third strike on Wednesday night’s final out of the sixth inning, Kershaw achieved the accomplishment.
I added interest to it. “It took too long,” Kershaw remarked. To be honest, I didn’t pitch that well tonight. The slider was awful.
Kershaw joined Washington Senators pitcher Walter Johnson and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson as the only pitchers with 3,000 or more strikeouts in a single season during his 18th season in Los Angeles.
To give the Dodgers a 5-4 victory, Freddie Freeman singled in Shohei Ohtani to conclude a three-run ninth. Kershaw received no decision.
When the 37-year-old left-hander walked off the mound to close the sixth, the 53,536-seat sellout crowd erupted in cheers. Kershaw stopped and removed his cap, and teammates held off on giving him a hug for a moment so he could take in the applause.
Kershaw patted his chest and mouthed the words “thank you” after waving to his wife Ellen and their four kids in the stands.
I’m sorry for Ellen. “I understand she was anxious,” he remarked. I worried that I wouldn’t get it and would have to travel to Milwaukee to do it, so I made her last six innings out there.
Along with his teammates, coaches, training staff, and front office executives, Kershaw enjoyed a clubhouse toast.
“I am incredibly grateful for tonight and my teammates,” he remarked. Individual accolades are fantastic, but it doesn’t matter if you have no one to celebrate with, I told my teammates.
Between pitches, the game was postponed for over six minutes, during which a memorial film was shown.
The only active pitchers with that many are Kershaw, San Francisco’s Justin Verlander (3,468), and Toronto’s Max Scherzer (3,412). Kershaw is only the team’s fourth left-hander.
“It’s an amazing list,” he added. Being a part of that group at last is special.
Jim Wolf, the plate umpire, called the third strike on a slider, which was Kershaw’s season-high 100th pitch of the evening, and Capra, who was hitting ninth, was retired on four pitches. Wolf is the brother of former Kershaw teammate and retired pitcher Randy Wolf.
Kershaw remarked, “I wanted it to come easy.” I would have preferred to have finished it in the first place.
Before the game, manager Dave Roberts had stated that, with the milestone within sight, he would manage the three-time Cy Young Award winner in a different way. That was evident when Kershaw, who had already thrown a season-high 92 pitches with just two strikeouts, jogged out for the sixth to a standing ovation. He needed three to make history going into the game.
Roberts declared, “I was going to give him every chance to do it at home.” His emotion as he attempted to obtain that third strike was evident. It simply transpired as it was intended to.
In the fifth inning, Kershaw retired Lenyn Sosa on three pitches for No. 2,999. Before striking out on a curveball thrown at 72 mph to end the inning, Sosa fouled off Kershaw’s opening two pitches.
Miguel Vargas took called strikes on his first two pitches in the third inning before swinging and missing another curveball from his old Dodgers teammate that was traveling at 72 mph.
The White Sox lead 4-2 after six innings after Kershaw gave up a two-run homer to Austin Slater and two more runs as Chicago swung hard at him.
You sensed it. He stated of the fans, “They really wanted it for me.” The anxiety was palpable. They wanted to force me to do it.
After Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy was hurt while tagging out Michael A. Taylor on a steal attempt, Kershaw made history by striking out one batter. Muncy was hardly able to bear any weight on his left leg and needed assistance leaving the field.
For the Dodgers’ pitching staff, which has been severely weakened by injury, Kershaw has offered much-needed stability.
Roberts stated before to the game, “It’s just another reminder for me, for anyone, to never bet against that guy.” No matter his health or anything else, he will force himself to do whatever the team requires.
In his first start following his recovery from knee and foot surgeries last offseason, Kershaw gave up five runs in four innings. He has kept opposing batters to a.222 average ever since.
“We’ve needed some length from the starter for the first three months of the season,” Roberts stated. He’s done everything we’ve required and more once he sort of gained his feet after the first few. That is not overlooked.
Kershaw was the National League’s top pitcher from 2010 to 2015, leading the league in ERA five times, strikeouts three times, and victories twice.
With a 21-3 record, 1.77 ERA, and 233 strikeouts at the end of 2014, Kershaw had one of the best seasons ever and was named the National League’s Cy Young and Most Valuable Player.
Kershaw’s work style has changed due to age and less prominent factors. He is aware that his consistency is inconsistent, but he doesn’t have to be flawless every time because of the team’s depth of personnel.
Kershaw no longer dominates batters the way he did in his prime, but he still has a tenacious will, a cunning that has been refined over the course of two decades, and a slider that can still mislead.
Roberts remarked, “I’ve watched him develop more than any player.” Although he hasn’t lost the competition, I believe that things are more complicated than they were in the past. His edges seem softer to me; I believe that’s what fatherhood and Father Time do to people.
