The 2,487th strikeout of Clayton Kershaw's career, the one that moved him into second place on the Dodgers' all-time strikeout list, was aptly completed, with a biting slider that darted off the plate. Shed Long Jr., 12 years old when Kershaw recorded strikeout No. 1 in 2008, couldn't resist. He lunged and he whiffed.
Kershaw got the ball back and tossed it over to the Dodgers dugout. Don Drysdale was in the rear-view mirror. Only Don Sutton's 2,696 strikeouts remain ahead. But Kershaw wasn't done. He chipped at the gap by striking out the next two hitters. He finished with 11 over seven innings in the Dodgers' 6-1 win over the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
The left-hander held Seattle to one run on four hits. He walked one and threw 96 pitches. His earned-run average plunged to 2.25 across four starts after beginning the season on the injured list with a back injury.
Kershaw relied heavily on his slider and curveball Thursday, but again flexed his fastball's unusual velocity increase. Rarely does a pitcher experience a decline in fastball velocity for four straight seasons as Kershaw did and turn it around. But Kershaw's fastball has been different this year.
The 92.5 mph average in his previous outing against the Angels was the highest over a start since the 2017 World Series. He hit 93.6 mph in that appearance _ the hardest pitch he's thrown since 2017. Last season, over a third of his four-seam fastballs were under 90 mph. In his first three starts this season, just four of his 108 four-seam fastballs didn't touch 90.
Overall, the fastball averaged 91.9 mph in his first three starts _ up from 90.3 mph last season. The difference may seem marginal, but Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said it affords him more crucial margin for error.
"I also think that it allows his slider to keep the velocity and the break on it," Prior said. "The slider for him is a short when it's good. It's hard and it's short and it basically just misses barrels."
Kershaw induced 12 swing-and-misses with 42 sliders Thursday. Four were called strikes. He finished off six of his strikeouts with the pitch. Meanwhile, his fastball averaged 91.4 mph.
He started opposite Yusei Kikuchi, a 29-year-old left-hander who idolized him from afar in Japan before joining the Mariners (8-19) last season. They both faced lineups that have faltered against left-handers.
The Dodgers (19-8) began Thursday with the best record in the majors despite being ranked in the bottom eight in the majors in batting average, on-base-percentage and slugging percentage against left-handed pitchers. The problem surfaced again Tuesday when Mariners left-hander Marco Gonzales held them to one run across seven innings.
It's a perplexing development for a club featuring Mookie Betts, Justin Turner and AJ Pollock among their right-handed batters with left-handed hitters who have enjoyed success against left-handers. Corey Seager, who's hit the ball harder than anyone in the majors, was given Thursday off. The Dodgers broke through without him.
After going down in order the first two innings, the Dodgers scored four runs in the third capitalized on two breaks to score four runs in the third frame. After Kike Hernandez and Austin Barnes reached base to start the inning Matt Beaty lined the eighth pitch he saw down the right-field line for an RBI ground-rule double. Barnes advanced to third base and scored on a wild pitch. Pollock and Cody Bellinger, who later homered for the second straight day, each delivered run-scoring singles to give Kershaw a four-run cushion.
That was plenty. While the Dodgers have scuffled against left-handers, no team has been as dominated by left-handers as the Mariners. Seattle entered Thursday last in the majors in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. Kershaw was the stiffest left-handed test they've faced and the pattern continued.
The only run Kershaw surrendered came on a solo homer from Kyle Seager, Corey's older brother, in the fourth inning. It was the fifth home run Kershaw has allowed this season. All have been solo shots. He's given up just one other run.
