Clayton Kershaw, who topped Hall of Fame Sandy Koufax on the Dodgers strikeout list last year, passed another immortal, Don Drysdale, during Los Angeles’ 6-1 win over the Mariners on Thursday. Now, the southpaw ranks second in franchise history, behind Hall of Fame Don Sutton.
Kershaw had 11 strikeouts while giving up four hits in seven innings of work at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. In the fifth inning, he fanned Shed Long Jr. to pass Drysdale. The veteran now has 2,493 career strikeouts. Club leader Sutton struck out 2,696 batters in 16 seasons with the Dodgers.
“Obviously great,” Kershaw said of his latest achievement. “Just being a member of the Dodgers long enough to accomplish something like that is something special. Given the names on that list, it makes you feel good to be a part of it. Someday I’ll look back and see it as cool. But today was a great start overall. “
Kershaw, who is in his 13th major league season, struck out seven of the last 11 batters he faced Thursday. Last week, he limited the Angels to one run in 7.0 innings of labor.
Kershaw is 3-1 this year with a 2.25 ERA. With his career record of 172-75, he needs to win five more games to tie Brickyard Kennedy for fourth on the franchise’s win list (behind Sutton, Drysdale and Dazzy Vance. (GG) (Taken MLB.com)