Entering Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, the 3,000 strikeout club consisted of 19 pitchers:
- Nolan Ryan – 5,714
- Randy Johnson – 4,875
- Roger Clemens – 4,672
- Steve Carlton – 4,136
- Bert Blyleven – 3,701
- Tom Seaver – 3,640
- Don Sutton – 3,574
- Gaylord Perry – 3,534
- Walter Johnson – 3,515
- Justin Verlander – 3,416
- Max Scherzer – 3,407
- Greg Maddux – 3,371
- Phil Niekro – 3,342
- Fergie Jenkins – 3,192
- Pedro Martinez – 3,154
- Bob Gibson – 3,117
- Curt Schilling – 3,116
- C.C. Sabathia – 3,093
- John Smoltz – 3,084
Clayton Kershaw entered Wednesday’s start with 2,997 strikeouts.
In the third inning, he struck out Miguel Vargas on three pitches, the final one being a curveball.
In the fifth inning, he struck out Lenyn Sosa on three pitches, the final one being another curveball.
In the sixth inning, Kershaw struck out Vinny Capra on four pitches, the final one a slider.
Prior to the game, DraftKings Sportsbook had these props up for Kershaw’s 3,000th strikeout:
The strikeout pitch was a slider at 85 mph, according to ESPN, so the Under 87.55 MPH at -600 hit.
Capra was caught looking, so the Called at +200 hit.
Capra was +750 to be the batter for Kershaw’s 3,000th strikeout.
