Kershaw first Dodger ever with seven seasons of at least 200 strikeouts
by Rowan Kavner
With his final pitch of the day, Clayton Kershaw stood alone in Dodger history.
Kershaw’s strikeout of Gorkys Hernandez to end the eighth inning on the way to a 3–1 win Sunday was his 200th of the year, making Kershaw the first Dodger pitcher ever with seven seasons of at least 200 strikeouts.
He’s one of 13 pitchers in Major League history to accomplish the feat, joining the following list of pitchers:
What Kershaw takes from the accomplishment, more than anything, is consistency.
“You take pride in your consistency,” Kershaw said. “That’s something that I think is really important as a starter is to be out there for every fifth day for the whole season. I’ve missed time the last two years, which is something I don’t really like to do.”
Kershaw missed more than a month with a back strain this year, yet after Sunday’s victory — which gave the Dodgers the series win against the Giants — Kershaw not only still leads the Majors with a 2.21 ERA but is also the only Major League pitcher with 18 wins.
“He was very good today,” said manager Dave Roberts. “Six (strikeouts), no walks, got the grounder, the double play when he needed.”
Roberts said there’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game when Kershaw plays the Giants, a team he’s pitched against 41 times in his career, including 40 starts after Sunday’s win. That game has typically gone Kershaw’s way, particularly this year, as Kershaw finished the year 4–1 with a 1.59 ERA in five starts against San Francisco in 2017.
On Sunday, the ground ball was crucial.
Kershaw didn’t allow a run until Mac Williamson’s eighth-inning solo home run, keeping San Francisco at bay with four double plays — the most for a Dodger pitcher in a game this year and the most ever for Kershaw in a game.
“It seemed like the balls they hit hard today were on the ground,” Kershaw said. “So, thankfully, guys were standing there to make outs. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten that many double plays before. Keeps your pitch count down, keeps the game going quick. I’ll take it, for sure.”
Offensively, the Dodgers only needed Yasmani Grandal’s contributions to secure the win.
Grandal’s sacrifice fly in the second inning scored Curtis Granderson. Two innings later, Grandal’s two-run homer to center field gave the Dodgers a 3–0 lead and their 212th home run of the year, setting a single-season franchise record.
“He was the offense,” Kershaw said. “He gave us three RBI today. Obviously, we needed it. That was great. Good to see him hitting homers there, taking walks, things like that. Situational hitting, sac fly like that…definitely played a big role today.”
Joc Pederson also made his presence felt at the plate in his first start in more than a week, getting on base in each of his three plate appearances with two walks and a single.
But the Dodgers wouldn’t need much offense the way their ace was efficiently working. Kershaw said he felt he had better command of his fastball Sunday, and while he feels he’s had mixed results since his return from the disabled list, this was a positive step the right direction.
It only took two hours and 34 minutes for the Dodgers to finish off the Giants, with Brandon Morrow filling in on an off day for Kenley Jansen with his second save of the season, capping off Kershaw’s win with a perfect ninth inning.
“Obviously, this is the type of game you want to have — nice, clean, fast-paced,” Grandal said.
