Clayton Kershaw Moves Closer to Baseball History in Return to Mound on Thursday

Clayton Kershaw was back on the mound on Thursday and he immediately moved closer to some special baseball history.

Oklahoma City's Clayton Kershaw throws a pitch during a minor league baseball game between the Oklahoma City Baseball Club and the El Paso Chihuahuas in Oklahoma City, Saturday, July, 13, 2024. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw made his first start of the season on Thursday afternoon against the San Francisco Giants and immediately moved closer to some special baseball history.

Per Baseball Reference on social media:

With 6 strikeouts today, @ClaytonKersh22 is only 9 away for the most against the Giants in a career

With 6 strikeouts today, @ClaytonKersh22 is only 9 away for the most against the Giants in a career 👑 pic.twitter.com/KiJ052JthD

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) July 25, 2024

Kershaw now has 408 career strikeouts against the Giants, which is eight shy of tying the record of 416 set by Warren Spahn. While that's an incredible number of K's, it's not surprising to see Kershaw rank so high on this list since he's had career longevity and the benefit of playing the Giants 19 times a year for most of his career.

Kershaw went 4.0 innings in his return to the mound. In addition to those six strikeouts, he walked two and gave up six hits. He surrendered two earned runs.

He did not factor into the decision, so he remains 210-92 for his career. One of the best pitchers in baseball history, Kershaw is a 10-time All-Star, a three-time Cy Young winner and a five-time ERA champion. He also helped the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series title and came back this year with the hope of winning a second title.

With Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts leading the lineup, the Dodgers are certainly well-positioned for a lengthy October run yet again. They currently lead the National League West and are set for another division title.

The Dodgers will open up a series with the Astros on Friday night.

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