This month, the Los Angeles Dodgers are ranked fourth among the teams with the worst ERA in the National League. This ties with their sixth-worst ERA in MLB. The reason is quite straightforward: injuries. As of now, the team has 12 of their pitchers on the injured list. The list included players like Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. While the Dave Roberts-led team was seeing the additions to the list since February, the right-hander Clayton Kershaw was preparing to make a comeback. And he did!

Let’s rewind.

On February 13, 2025, Clayton Kershaw recommitted to the Dodgers, signing a one-year, $7.5 million contract, which included additional roster and game-started bonuses. This marked his 18th season with the team, equaling Zack Wheat and Bill Russell for the longest tenure in Dodgers franchise history. He also became just the 59th player in MLB history to spend 18 seasons with a single team. Kershaw began the season on the injured list, recovering from off-season surgery. He rejoined the active roster on May 17.

In his initial outing, he pitched four innings, giving up five earned runs on five hits, along with three walks and two strikeouts. However, on June 8, Kershaw secured his first win of the season, throwing five innings against the Cardinals, allowing only one earned run on six hits while striking out seven batters. Kershaw has made eight starts in total this season and has won 4 back-to-back games, including the one held Thursday against the Colorado Rockies. Which, by the way, inched him closer to a milestone.

Kershaw delivered a strong performance, fanning five over six innings in a 3-1 victory against the Rockies. He started strong, striking out three in the first two innings and adding a fourth for the final out of the fifth. Kershaw then fanned Tyler Freeman for the second out of the sixth inning before retiring the next batter and exiting the game. He threw 69 pitches, with 41 strikes. Notably, Kershaw notched two strikeouts with his 73 mph curveball and three more using his slider, effectively navigating a Rockies lineup composed entirely of right-handed batters.

In his career that has spanned 18 years and counting, Kershaw has garnered 2997 strikeouts (including 5 from the June 26th match), just three strikes away from the coveted mark of 3000. He will become the third pitcher to achieve such a feat after Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, who have 3468 strikeouts in 20 seasons and 3412 strikeouts in 18 seasons, respectively. Kershaw would just have to wait less than a week.

“#Dodgers Dave Roberts said postgame that Clayton Kershaw’s next start will be Wednesday at Dodger Stadium,” Dodgers’ beat writer Bill Plunkett posted on X on Thursday. This start will be against the Chicago White Sox on July 2, marking his ninth game of the season. 

“He’s certainly competing, making pitches. I think he has gotten better each time out, even with not the best of stuff. He just found a way to be efficient,” Dave Roberts said in a post-game interview. “He’s got three more to do, so we can make history. And for him to be able to do it in the home whites, it’s going to be fun and exciting. He’ll have his family there, friends. We’ll see. But I’m excited for him.” Kershaw couldn’t contain his excitement, too.

Clayton Kershaw thinks his homecoming (achieving milestone) would be “really cool”

Clayton Kershaw might be a late starter this season, but he has shown what he is capable of doing. Let’s not forget the 100 strikeouts from his first season with Dodgers.

With high hopes of reaching the milestone, Kershaw said, “I knew I had eight to go.” Eight in Colorado is never going to be easy to do. I felt good. But he pitched well and got through six. A chance to strike out three at home would be really cool.”

Besides, Kershaw has a good record against the White Sox.

In his five career appearances against the team, he has a record 2-1 with an ERA of 2.90 and 31 strikeouts. That’s nearly an average of five strikeouts in every game. It is highly probable that he will attempt to get the final three batters out in the Wednesday’s game next week.

Not to mention that the Dodgers have won eight of their last ten games against the White Sox since 2017, via Statmuse.

The excitement is at its peak and no surprise; just like the Dodgers manager and teammates, we all are eager to see Kershaw achieve that feat. Are you?