Clayton Kershaw added another milestone to his incredible resume Thursday, as the Los Angeles Dodgers ace passed Sandy Koufax for third on the club's all-time strikeout list with the 2,397th of his career.
Kershaw accomplished the feat when he fanned San Diego Padres catcher Austin Hedges in the sixth inning. It was his sixth punchout of the game.
2,397 Ks. @ClaytonKersh22 moves ahead of Sandy Koufax for third all-time in franchise history with his 2,397th career strikeout. pic.twitter.com/oOmDiVE9Ng
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 2, 2019
He now trails only Don Sutton (2,696) and Don Drysdale (2,486) for the mantle of the Dodgers' all-time strikeout master.
Koufax was a lifelong Dodger from 1955 to 1966. Though injuries shortened his career to 12 seasons, he has long remained a titan for the franchise. In his final season, Koufax was 27-9 with 317 strikeouts in 323 innings.
Clayton Kershaw: 2397 Ks
— MLB (@MLB) August 2, 2019
Sandy Koufax: 2396 Ks pic.twitter.com/nkUKmYExBo
"I have the ball right here. It's really cool, any time you get mentioned in the same breath as Sandy," Kershaw said after the game, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.
"He wouldn’t be proud of this one, though," Kershaw added about his outing. "Thankful I got through six."
Strikeout No. 2,397 was special. Congrats @ClaytonKersh22! pic.twitter.com/QH6gPJy4b0
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 2, 2019
Kershaw passed Koufax in his own 12th season with the Dodgers. He's under contract with Los Angeles for at least two more seasons, so there's a chance he takes a run at the top spot.
