Ironic former Brewers player falls victim to Clayton Kershaw’s 3,000th strikeout

History was made at Dodger Stadium last night. Clayton Kershaw, the 3x Cy Young Award-winning ace of the Los Angeles Dodgers, collected his 3,000th career strikeout. Whether you dislike the Dodgers or downright despise them (those are the only two options), credit is owed where credit is due, and unfortunately today that credit must be given to a player who has worn Dodger blue for the last 18 years.

Sarah Langs, an expert statistician who writes for MLB.com, published a story this morning breaking down 12 facts behind Kershaw's record-breaking night. Among them were the fact that Kershaw became just the 20th pitcher to reach the 3,000 career strikeout mark, the fourth lefty to do so, and just the third pitcher to reach the milestone while playing for one team. Kershaw is also one of just three pitchers to allow a postseason home run to a relief pitcher.

That clip never gets old. But in all honesty, Kershaw has been one of the game's great pitchers for nearly two decades now. His 3,000th career strikeout last night speaks to both his longevity and the resilience required to have such a lengthy career. The now 37-year-old Kershaw has spent time on the injured list in every season since 2016, battling a balky back and several shoulder injuries. This year, he missed the start of the season after undergoing toe surgery in mid-March.

Despite it all, Kershaw has finally reached the 3,000 career strikeouts milestone, and the way that he did it should hold some irony for Milwaukee Brewers fans.

Clayton Kershaw strikes out former Brewer Vinny Capra for 3,000th career strikeout

Kershaw was nearing the end of his night. He left the mound after the fifth inning with 2,999 career strikeouts and 92 pitches in last night's game. With the bottom of the order due up for the Chicago White Sox in the following inning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts rolled the dice and sent Kershaw back out for the sixth. After getting Mike Tauchman to ground out and catching Michael A. Taylor trying to steal third (a play that resulted in a scary knee injury for Max Muncy), Kershaw was staring down what was surely his last batter of the night, regardless of the outcome. That batter? Brewers 2025 Opening Day third baseman Vinny Capra.

Kershaw got ahead of Capra with a first-pitch fastball and slider below the zone that Capra swung over the top of. With the Dodger faithful on their feet, Kershaw painted a backdoor slider on the outside corner, and home-plate umpire Jim Wolf rang Capra up.

The history-making backwards K was just the latest installment in what has been a tough season for Capra. After failing to find early-season success with the Brewers, the 28-year-old third baseman was given another chance with the last-place White Sox, but things haven't gone much better for Capra on the South Side of Chicago. On the season, he's slashing just .125/.157/.177 and his Opening Day home run remains the lone long ball that he's hit this year. Capra is deserving of success after the hard work and time that he put into his six years in the minor leagues, but that success has continued to elude him at the major league level.

Interestingly enough, had Kershaw failed to put Capra away with a strikeout in last night's game, his 3,000th career K would have more than likely come at American Family Field next week. The Dodgers come to town next Monday, and Kershaw is lined up to pitch on Tuesday night. Now, with his big milestone behind him, hopefully the Brewers can take advantage of a history-making hangover and scratch out a win against the Dodgers legend.