Dodgers fans celebrate Clayton Kershaw reaching 3,000 strikeouts

Fernando Urquiza screamed himself hoarse, slapping palms with strangers on the field level of Dodger Stadium. He’d waited six innings — each on the very edge of his seat. He refreshed flight options to Milwaukee in case Clayton Kershaw made him wait until his next start for strikeout No. 3,000.

Roderick Abram, a diehard New York Yankees fan celebrating his 40th birthday, rejoiced when Kershaw reached the strikeout milestone. In enemy pinstripes, his team allegiance wavered long enough to clap for a man he often hopes gets shelled — particularly in the Bronx — but not on Wednesday night.

Kershaw’s historic game wasn’t necessarily a vintage outing, but to his dearest fans, that only deepened the meaning.

The Chicago White Sox didn’t make it easy for Kershaw. He labored. He gave up runs. It seemed he might fall one short of the three strikeouts he needed. And still, he managed to finally become the 20th pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 strikeouts.

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“Building the emotion and building it up to what it came to be,” said Urquiza, who has attended Dodger games for 38 years. “But Clayton Kershaw pitching, it wouldn’t have happened any other way than to be an emotional outcome.”

As Kershaw wrapped the fifth with just two strikeouts, the mood at Dodger Stadium tightened. Phones rose with each windup, fans stood between pitches and that rare postseason stillness crept in, nearly three months early.

And though some considered leaving early to beat traffic and others weighed booking Milwaukee flights, it didn’t seem as though hope fled Dodger Stadium.

“I know it took a little bit longer for him to get it, but I knew he was going to get it, and that’s why they kept him in. And he wanted it bad, and he got it,” said 34-year-old barber Steven Moreno, who said he “wouldn’t have missed the game for the world.”

Back in 2008, Daniel Palomera brought his kids to watch Greg Maddux pitch. Instead, a baby-faced 20-year-old with a towering leg kick took the mound.

A young fan holds a sign with the numbers “3,000” on the night Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw recorded his 3,000th career strikeout.

(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

Palomera saw the early days of Kershaw’s career 17 years ago and returned Wednesday for what could be one of his last major milestones.

“Two years ago, I didn’t think he was gonna make it,” Palomera said. “And last year, I thought he might have thought of retiring with all the injuries, but him coming back just makes it that much more special. He’s getting to do it here — that’s really special.”

Jeremy Wasser stood a few rows behind home plate in a sky blue Kershaw Foundation T-shirt. He tilted his head back and paused for a moment when asked about Kershaw’s legacy.

“To see him be as successful as he’s been, as consistently great as he’s been, he’s represented the city and represented the team with class and with character,” Wasser said. “And the combination of that character and his performance on the field is an extraordinary achievement.”

Kershaw’s accompliment will forever be known as major milestone in Dodgers history, but it meant than a statistic to the fans who gave the loyal veteran pitcher a six-minute standing ovation.

“The way he cares and treats his own teammates like family,” Moreno said. “He’s made this organization like a family.”