It was far from one of his better starts during a surprisingly strong season, but Clayton Kershaw battled to get three strikeouts Wednesday night vs. the Chicago White Sox.
And in doing so, on his 100th pitch of the night, the Los Angeles Dodgers veteran pitcher reached 3,000 career strikeouts.
Kershaw fought through six innings, giving up four earned runs and nine hits. Entering the sixth with just two strikeouts on the board, Kershaw got Vinny Capra with an 85 mile-per-hour pitch looking on a 1-2 count.
MORE: An in-depth look at MLB’s 3,000 career strikeout list
He started Capra off with a four-seam fastball that hit 90 before a curve that was called for a ball. After an 84 mile-per-hour slider saw Capra swing and miss, he delivered another slider that just hit the corner for strike three.
Last week, the 37-year-old Kershaw turned in a five-strikeout performance at the Colorado Rockies to get him closer to the milestone. He becomes just the 20th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts.
Kershaw is the third active pitcher to hit the mark, joining Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. He is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and has made 10 All-Star Game appearances.
During the offseason, Kershaw underwent surgery on his left knee and foot. He came into the night with a 4-0 record and 3.03 earned run average on the year.
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