Clayton Kershaw records his 3,000th career strikeout: Dodgers pitcher is just 20th to hit benchmark
There is a new member of the 3,000-strikeout club. On Wednesday night, Los Angeles Dodgers icon Clayton Kershaw became the 20th pitcher in baseball history to record 3,000 career strikeouts, and only the fourth left-hander. He fanned Vinny Capra of the Chicago White Sox for the milestone strikeout in the top of the sixth.
Here is Kershaw’s historic 3,000th strikeout:
The milestone pitch was an 85.3-mph slider that caught the outside corner for strike three against Capra. It was Kershaw’s 100th and final pitch of the night — the first time he’d registered 100 pitches in a start since 2023.
Next came the Dodger Stadium curtain call:
Overall, Kershaw on Wednesday went six innings and allowed four runs, all earned, on nine hits with three strikeouts and a walk. At the time of his exit, the Dodgers trailed 4-2 (CHW-LAD GameTracker). Kershaw on the season now has a 3.43 ERA after nine starts and 44 ⅔ innings.
Now 37, Kershaw’s first big-league strikeout came as a 20-year-old on May 25, 2008, when he got Skip Schumaker, then with the St. Louis Cardinals, to swing for the third strike. Schumaker was the first hitter Kershaw faced in the big leagues after Los Angeles selected him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft.
Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan is baseball’s all-time strikeout king. He fanned an incredible 5,714 batters in a career that spanned parts of 27 seasons from 1966-93. Randy Johnson (4,875), Roger Clemens (4,672), and Steve Carlton (4,136) are the only other pitchers in the 4,000-strikeout club. Kershaw will join Carlton, Johnson, and Ryan in the Hall of Fame in a few years.
Here is the all-time strikeout leaderboard among left-handed pitchers:
- Randy Johnson: 4,875
- Steve Carlton: 4,136
- CC Sabathia: 3,093
- Clayton Kershaw: 3,000 (and counting)
- Mickey Lolich: 2,832
Justin Verlander (3,471) and Max Scherzer (3,419) are the other active pitchers in the 3,000-strikeout club. The closest to joining them is Atlanta Braves lefty and reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale. Sale has 2,528 career strikeouts and would have to continue playing another few years to join Kershaw in the 3,000-strikeout club.
Kershaw made his 2025 debut on May 17 after undergoing knee and toe surgeries last fall. Injuries, including shoulder surgery, limited him to only seven starts last season. Kershaw did not pitch in the postseason as the Dodgers won the eighth World Series title in franchise history, and the second of Kershaw’s career (also 2020).
For several seasons now, Kershaw has been taking things year-to-year, and it’s unclear how much longer he will play. If he continues playing and his health cooperates, he could climb as high as 14th on the all-time strikeout list by the end of next season. Only nine pitchers have 3,500 career strikeouts.
A three-time Cy Young winner and former MVP, Kershaw has a career 216-94 record and 2.51 ERA in 18 seasons. Those 18 seasons are tied with Bill Russell and Zack Wheat for the most in Dodgers history.
