DENVER -- Every time he takes the mound, Clayton Kershaw inches closer to achieving one of the most elusive accomplishments in baseball: 3,000 career strikeouts.
After ringing up five Rockies on Thursday afternoon, Kershaw is nearly there. Two-thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-seven down, three to go.
The vaunted Dodgers southpaw only needed 69 pitches to get through six innings of one-run ball as his team finished off a three-game sweep of the Rockies with a 3-1 win at Coors Field. Even pitching at altitude, Kershaw probably had more in the tank and could have gone for the milestone.
Manager Dave Roberts said before the game that he could see it going both ways. He didn't think Kershaw was necessarily chasing strikeouts, but at the same time, how could he not be at this point?
"One part, I’m sure he wants to do it in Los Angeles," Roberts said. "The other part of it is he wants to get it over with. I think it’s inevitable. It’s going to be hard if he gets to two strikes not to go for the strikeout. But that’s what he’s always done. So that doesn’t really change."
Kershaw entered the series finale at Coors Field eight strikeouts shy of 3,000. The last time he struck out at least that many hitters in a game was more than two years ago, on June 8, 2023, in Cincinnati.
The Rockies lead the Majors with 795 strikeouts, so it wasn't inconceivable that Kershaw could reach the milestone Thursday -- but it was unlikely. Now, a more likely shot at 3,000 will come next week at Dodger Stadium, in front of the only home fans he's known over the course of 18 seasons in the big leagues.
"It would be very special," Kershaw said. "It would be.”
His next start is expected to come Wednesday evening against the White Sox.
“He’s got three more to go, so we can make history," Roberts said. "And for him to be able to do it in the home whites, it’s going to be fun, exciting. He’ll have his family there, friends. We’ll see. But I’m excited for him.”
The Blue Jays' Max Scherzer and the Giants' Justin Verlander are the only active pitchers who have reached 3,000 strikeouts. After Kershaw, the Braves' Chris Sale is the next closest -- but at 2,528 strikeouts in his age-36 season, it's not likely that Sale will get to 3,000.
Given the way that the game has changed, it is entirely possible that no other pitcher will reach 3,000 strikeouts.
"I'd say I don't think anyone will do it after him. But no one knows," center fielder Andy Pages said in Spanish. "No one knows what can happen in the future. But it's very difficult, very difficult with baseball and what we're seeing these days with all these injuries. It's incredibly difficult."
Not only is Kershaw on the cusp of history, he has been a valuable arm for the Dodgers this season. In his eighth start of the 2025 campaign -- one more than he made in an injury-shortened '24 -- he lowered his ERA to 3.03, with the Rockies' lone run scoring on a Brenton Doyle solo homer.
It takes more than talent to reach 3,000 strikeouts -- or 18 seasons, for that matter. It takes longevity and a willingness to evolve with the times. As Kershaw approaches the end of his career, his manager has seen him do just that.
"It’s not always the case, certainly with people, players that have had success doing something one way," Roberts said. "But as you get older, everything kind of falls back a little bit, and you’ve got to be able to read and react. And I give Clayton a lot of credit to just not be so stubborn to what got him to this point, to kind of find out how to still be good today. And he’s doing that.”
Kershaw still has some of the same swing-and-miss stuff at his disposal, too. He'll use it to put the finishing touches on his Hall of Fame resumé.
“Eight in Colorado is never going to be easy to do. But pitched well, got through six," Kershaw said. "And a chance to strike out three at home would be really cool.”