It's pretty funny to think many were worried about Clayton Kershaw's performance through the month of May. The Los Angeles Dodgers' left-hander was just 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA in his first 10 starts, but ever since he's been one of the best in the MLB.
Last night he achieved another milestone to add to his resume.
Kershaw completely shut down the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night after tossing eight scoreless innings and giving up only three hits while striking out eight. Those eight ring-ups put Kershaw's total at 205 for the season, which leads the MLB, but more importantly, he tied Sandy Koufax's franchise record with his sixth consecutive season of striking out at least 200 batters.
Koufax set the Dodgers' record back in 1966 - his final year in the MLB. Up until this point, Koufax and Tom Seaver were the only two pitchers in modern National League history to achieve that historic mark. Here are Koufax's stats (provided by Baseball-Reference) from the six seasons he struck out at least 200 batters:
1961: 18-13 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 269 strikeouts in 42 games (35 starts), totaling 255 2/3 innings
1962: 14-7 with a 2.54 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 216 strikeouts in 28 games (26 starts), totaling 184 1/3 innings
1963: 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 306 strikeouts in 40 starts (311 innings)
1964: 19-5 with a 1.74 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 223 strikeouts in 29 games (28 starts), totaling 223 innings
1965: 26-8 with a 2.04 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 382 strikeouts in 43 games (41 starts), totaling 335 2/3 innings
1966: 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 317 strikeouts in 41 starts (323 innings)
Koufax retired after the 1966 season after just 12 years in the MLB due to chronic arthritis in his pitching arm. Over that six-season span, the former three-time Cy Young winner led the league in ERA five times (1962-1966) and had the highest strikeout total four times ('61, '63, '65, '66).
And here are Kershaw's stats from the last six seasons:
2010: 13-10 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 212 strikeouts in 32 starts (204 1/3 innings)
2011: 21-5 with a 2.28 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 248 strikeouts in 33 starts (233 1/3 innings)
2012: 14-9 with a 2.53 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 229 strikeouts in 33 starts (227 2/3 innings)
2013: 16-9 with a 1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 232 strikeouts in 33 starts (236 innings)
2014: 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 239 strikeouts in 27 starts (198 1/3 innings)
2015: 10-6 with a 2.39 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 205 strikeouts in 23 starts (162 innings)*
*Season not complete yet
Similarly, over that span, Kershaw has led the MLB in ERA four times (2011-2014) and strikeouts twice ('11, '13). He also had the highest strikeout total in the NL on two other occasions ('12, '14) and has three Cy Young Awards to his name.
The veteran left-hander has silenced those who questioned him in the beginning of the season: since June 1 he's 7-3 with a 1.40 ERA (13 starts) and currently leads the MLB in strikeouts.
Kershaw bolstered his illustrious resume on Wednesday night and is now one step closer to making baseball history.
