LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — Clayton Kershaw takes the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night needing three strikeouts to reach 3,000 for the only team he’s played for during his 18-year career.The three-time Cy Young Award winner is expected to achieve the milestone in front of his home fans at Dodger Stadium — where he has 1,627 Ks — when he faces the Chicago White Sox.Kershaw will become the 20th pitcher in major league history to reach the vaunted mark. He’ll join Justin Verlander of San Francisco (3,468) and Max Scherzer of Toronto (3,412) as the only active pitchers with that many. Kershaw will be just the fourth left-hander in the club.Teammate Freddie Freeman has been reminding Kershaw daily how many Ks he needs to reach the milestone even as Kershaw remains focused on trying to give the team chances to win.The White Sox have the eighth-most strikeouts in baseball with 707, and average about nine per game.Kershaw is making history at a time when he’s provided much-needed stability for the Dodgers’ pitching staff, which has been decimated by injuries this season.The NL West-leading Dodgers have won his past five starts.He is 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA going into his ninth start — two more than he made in an injury-shortened 2024 season — of the year.Kershaw faces the White Sox seeking his 217th career victory, which wo …
