When Clayton Kershaw re-signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February, all eyes pointed to him potentially reaching 3,000 career strikeouts during the 2025 MLB season.

The journey to 3K took some time, as the three-time Cy Young winner began the year on the injured list while recovering from offseason surgery, but he finally reached the destination July 2. Kershaw fanned Vinny Capra of the Chicago White Sox to become the 20th pitcher in MLB history, and just the fourth southpaw, to reach 3,000 strikeouts.

It was his third and final strikeout of the game, so Kershaw will sit on exactly 3,000 strikeouts until his next start. For the game, he pitched six innings, allowing nine hits and four earned runs as the Dodgers prevailed 5-4. But Kershaw did not get the victory because the White Sox were leading 3-2 when he exited the game, only to see the Dodgers rally and win via a walk-off single from Freddie Freeman.

He reached the milestone on a 1-2 count with an 85.3 mph slider that was called a strike. The slider has always been Kershaw’s favorite breaking ball, but it’s also become his favorite pitch overall in recent years as he’s lost some velocity on his fastball. In each of the past five seasons, he’s thrown his slider more often than his fastball.

With strikeout No. 3,000 being the last out of the inning, the crowd at Dodger Stadium could serenade Kershaw as he walked off the mound to the dugout. With the crowd in a frenzy, and manager Dave Roberts pumping his fist from the top step of the dugout, Kershaw tipped his cap to the fans. Many of his teammates rushed onto the field and applauded the pitcher, who also blew a kiss to his family in a suite.

After he entered the dugout, the applause continued until Kershaw came back out for another curtain call. That was his final act of the night as he was then removed from the game after throwing 100 pitches. It was clear that Roberts wanted it to happen that night, because the 100 pitches was the most Kershaw has thrown in over two years. With Kershaw’s next start scheduled to come on the road in Milwaukee, both he and Roberts also wanted to make sure it happened in front of the Dodgers’ faithful, who have been behind him for 18 years.

After the game, Kershaw was asked if he could feel the crowd hanging on every pitch, especially after a rough start in which he allowed five hits and two runs before recording his first strikeout.

“Yeah, the first few innings didn’t start off great. I got a couple of guys with two strikes but couldn’t finish them off,” said Kershaw, referring to seven White Sox batters who reached two strikes but somehow avoided striking out.

“You just feel that [the crowd] wanted it for me so bad. I didn’t have a lot of strikeouts tonight, so I didn’t really do my part. But you could feel the tension and the fans. They were trying to will me to do it. So I’m just grateful for sure.”

Joining the 3,000-strikeout club is special, but Kershaw is part of an even more elite club because he racked up all 3,000 in a Dodgers uniform. That makes him just the fifth pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts with one team, joining Walter Johnson (Washington Senators), Bob Gibson (St. Louis Cardinals), Steve Carlton (Philadelphia Phillies), and John Smoltz (Atlanta Braves). Carlton and Smoltz would go on to play for other teams after reaching 3,000 with their original club, but that isn’t something Kershaw is even considering.

“I’ll spend my whole career here,” he said in his post-game press conference.

Kershaw becomes the fourth lefty pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts, joining Carlton, Randy Johnson, and CC Sabathia. He also reached the mark sooner than any other pitcher, in only 2,787 innings. That’s 104 fewer than former record holder Max Scherzer. Kershaw, Scherzer, and Justin Verlander are the only active members of the 3,000-strikeout club, and that club may not welcome another member for quite a while.

The only other active pitcher who has 3,000 strikeouts on the radar is Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves. In May, the 35-year-old southpaw became the fastest pitcher to reach 2,500 strikeouts, but Sale also has a long injury history. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on July 1 with a fractured rib cage, leaving the rest of his 2025 season in question.

Three other active pitchers have at least 2,000 strikeouts, but they all have either injury or age concerns as well. Gerrit Cole has 2,251 Ks but won’t pitch this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, while Yu Darvish has 2,007 strikeouts but also hasn’t pitched in 2025 due to elbow inflammation. Charlie Morton (2,124) sits between Cole and Darvish and is on an active roster, unlike the other two, but Morton turns 42 in four months.