A slider, a milestone and a heartfelt thank you: Kershaw's 3,000th strikeout
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw was laboring in pursuit of his 3,000th strikeout. His pitch count soaring, he was down to the last batter he would face, needing one more swing and miss to become the 20th pitcher to reach the milestone.“It’s a little bit harder when you’re actually trying to strike people out,” he said, smiling. “I never really had to do that before.”Kershaw accomplished the feat when Vinny Capra of the Chicago White Sox took a slider for a called third strike for the final out of the sixth inning on Wednesday night.“I made it interesting. Made it take too long,” Kershaw said. “Honestly, I didn’t pitch that great tonight. The slider was so bad.”In his 18th season in Los Angeles, Kershaw joined Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators and Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals as the only pitchers with 3,000 or more strikeouts all for one team.Freddie Freeman capped a three-run ninth by singling in Shohei Ohtani, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 win. Kershaw didn't get a decision.The sellout crowd of…
Clayton Kershaw eyes 3,000th strikeout milestone in front of home fans at Dodger Stadium
Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night needing three strikeouts to reach 3,000 for the only team he’s played for during his 18-year career. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is expected to achieve the milestone in front of his home fans at Dodger…
last updated on 3 Jul 10:35