Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of three stories looking back at the legendary career of the recently retired Clayton Kershaw.
Previous stories:
Part 1: The beginning of something big
Part 2: A dynamic career
by Mark Langill
When the champagne flowed in the visitor’s clubhouse at Toronto’s Rogers Centre after World Series Game 7, it meant the Dodger bandwagon could roll into 2026 with the hopes of a third consecutive championship.
For Clayton Kershaw, it was the perfect moment to bid farewell from the mountain top.
The left-hander closed the book on his 18-year career — the longest tenure by any pitcher in Dodger history — and now has five years to craft his Hall of Fame speech.
In the meantime, the final numbers can be dissected and compared to his peer group and previous generations.
In 455 regular-season games (451 starts), Kershaw compiled a 223–96 record and 2.53 ERA during the regular season with 3,052 strikeouts in 2,855 1/3 innings. The 11-time All-Star won three Cy Young Awards, five ERA titles and a league MVP.
Here is a look at a dozen memorable games from Kershaw’s career:
The debut — May 25, 2008
It was no surprise when Kershaw was promoted to the Dodgers. At age 20, the club’s first round selection (seventh overall) in the 2006 MLB Draft had nothing left to prove in the Minor Leagues at Double-A Jacksonville.
It was now time for the next challenge.
On a Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, Kershaw made his Major League debut against the St. Louis Cardinals.
First-year Dodger manager Joe Torre was used to seeing great left-handers during his 18-year playing career. With the Braves, he caught Hall of Famer Warren Spahn — the all-time winningest left-handed pitcher — and batted .220 (13-for-59) against Sandy Koufax, the Dodger legend to whom Kershaw would often be compared.
Although Torre would only manage Kershaw for three seasons, he knew Kershaw could become an elite pitcher if he stayed healthy.
In six innings, Kershaw allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. He left with a 3–2 lead, but the Cardinals scored an unearned run in the seventh. The Dodgers eventually won 4–3 in 10 innings.
The debut was the only time Kershaw wore uniform No. 54. Before his next start, teammate Mark Sweeney gave Kershaw No. 22 because he heard that Kershaw, as a kid, admired Rangers first baseman Will Clark, who wore that number.
Becoming the ace — Sept. 14, 2010
In May 2009, Kershaw was on the brink of being sent to the Minor Leagues. He was 1–3 with a 5.21 ERA in his first seven starts. In a meeting with Torre, pitching coach Rick Honeycutt and batting coach Don Mattingly, Kershaw was told he needed a third pitch to complement his fastball and curveball. Kershaw began working on a slider.
One year later, Kershaw had three pitches up his sleeve and was on his way to becoming the staff ace.
Although the 2010 Dodgers finished in fourth place with an 80–82 record, Kershaw posted his first winning record. He went 13–10 with a 2.91 ERA with 212 strikeouts in 204 1/3 innings.
Kershaw recorded his first career shutout in a 1–0 victory at San Francisco, outdueling lefty Barry Zito. The four-hitter was also Kershaw’s first complete game.
Opening Day — April 1, 2013
The Opening Day matchup in 2013 between Kershaw and San Francisco right-hander Matt Cain was scoreless after six innings. The Dodgers finally broke through with four runs in the eighth inning for a 4–0 victory.
But the game will forever be remembered because the Dodgers’ first run came from the most unlikely source.
Against reliever George Kontos, Kershaw hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the eighth to center field. Kershaw became the first Dodger pitcher to hit a home run on Opening Day since Don Drysdale in 1965.
It turned out to be the only home run for Kershaw.
Kershaw then went out and completed the shutout in the top of the ninth inning.
No-hitter — June 18, 2014
Koufax is the only pitcher in Dodger history to pitch a perfect game, which occurred during the 1965 pennant race against the Chicago Cubs.
Kershaw came close during his domination of the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium, in which Kershaw had 15 strikeouts and no walks.
Kershaw retired 18 consecutive batters until Corey Dickerson opened the seventh inning with a two-hop infield grounder to shortstop Hanley Ramírez. He charged the ball, but his throw sailed wide of first baseman Adrián González for an error.
Kershaw retired the final nine batters of the game to become the first Dodger left-hander to pitch a no-hitter since Jerry Reuss at San Francisco on June 27, 1980.
The clincher in San Fran — Sept. 29, 2015
The Giants, World Series winners in 2010, 2012 and 2014, remained contenders in the NL West for the five months of the 2015 regular season. They trailed Los Angeles by 1 ½ games as late as Aug. 23 until the Dodgers slowly began to pull away.
In the second half, Kershaw went 10–1 with a 1.31 ERA in 15 starts as the Dodgers won their third consecutive division title (part of a current 13-year postseason streak).
The division clincher pitted Kershaw and San Francisco’s fabled World Series ace Madison Bumgarner (18–8, 2.73 ERA), who still had a shot at 20 wins for the first time in his career.
The marquee matchup fizzled. Los Angeles hit three home runs off Baumgarner, who was replaced in the sixth inning.
While cruising to a division-clinching, 8–0 complete-game victory, Kershaw struck out 13, raising his season total to 294. In his final start five days later against San Diego, Kershaw became the first Dodger pitcher since Koufax (317 in 1966) to record 300 strikeouts in one season.
Kershaw’s save — Oct. 13, 2016
During a press conference before NL Division Series Game 5 at Washington, manager Dave Roberts dismissed the notion of Kershaw being available for an out as a relief pitcher. Two days earlier, Kershaw had made 110 pitches in 6 2/3 innings during the Dodgers’ 6–5 victory that tied the series at two games apiece.
The Dodgers held a 4–1 lead in the seventh inning of Game 5, and Kershaw went to the bullpen to warm up — just in case. Dodger reliever Grant Dayton allowed a two-run homer in the seventh, and closer Kenley Jansen soon entered the game.
When Jansen got in trouble in the ninth inning, Kershaw entered a 4–3 game with one out and runners on first and second. Kershaw retired Daniel Murphy on an infield popup and struck out pinch-hitter Wilmer Difo for his first save since the 2006 Gulf Coast League playoff during his first pro season with Rookie-level Vero Beach.
World Series Game 1 — Oct. 24, 2017
His 2008 rookie season nearly included a trip to the World Series as the Dodgers reached the NL Championship Series, eventually losing to the Phillies in five games.
Kershaw had to wait until his 10th season to reach the World Series.
The Dodgers won their first NL pennant since 1988 by sweeping Arizona in the Division Series and beating the Cubs in five games in the NL Championship Series.
The first game of the 2017 World Series was 103 degrees at the 5:11 p.m. starting time, making it the hottest game in World Series history. Needing just 83 pitches in seven innings, Kershaw allowed one run on three hits in a 3–1 victory.
Kershaw joined Don Newcombe (1949) as the only pitchers with at least 11 strikeouts and no walks in a World Series game.
The first ring journey — Oct. 25, 2020
After an abbreviated 60-game regular season during a global pandemic, the Dodgers eventually reached the World Series staged at the neutral-site Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Kershaw’s third chance at a World Series ring turned out to be the charm as the Dodgers outlasted the Rays in six games.
With the series tied at two games apiece, Kershaw started the pivotal Game 5 against Tampa right-hander — and future Dodger teammate — Tyler Glasnow. In 5 2/3 innings, Kershaw allowed two runs on five hits during a 4–2 victory.
Perfect in Minnesota — April 13, 2022
The Dodgers didn’t need a Don Larsen on a frigid April afternoon in Minnesota. It was Larsen in 1956 against the Brooklyn Dodgers who authored the only perfect game in World Series history.
The 2022 World Series was still six months away.
When Kershaw retired all 21 Minnesota batters he faced in seven innings at Target Field in his season debut, there was little chance Kershaw was going to join Larsen’s peer group, even though Kershaw had 13 strikeouts and had thrown only 80 pitches.
In 2014, the Dodgers opened the season in Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 22. Kershaw allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings during a 3–1 victory. One game later, the Dodgers returned to Arizona to resume Spring Training.
Kershaw, who had pitched in four Cactus League exhibition games prior to the Australia trip, landed on the injured list due to a Teres Major strain. He missed 32 games through May 5.
Eight years later, the Dodgers weren’t going to take any chances on a cold day in Minnesota.
3,000 Ks — July 2, 2025
Entering the 2025 season, the 32 strikeouts Kershaw needed to become the 20th member of baseball’s 3,000 strikeout club wasn’t a certainty. He missed the 2024 postseason because of left big toe injury that hindered him pushing off the mound.
Flash ahead to June, when Kershaw posts a 4–0 record and 2.28 ERA in five starts, including 23 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings.
Now, it was just a matter of where and when.
He needed just three strikeouts entering his July 2 start against the Chicago White Sox. Kershaw made the sellout crowd squirm. He fanned former teammate Miguel Vargas in the first inning, but didn’t have another until Lenyn Sosa struck out swinging to end the fifth.
With the White Sox ahead 4–2, Kershaw remained in the sixth when Michael A. Taylor hit a one-out double. Taylor was caught stealing third, which left Kershaw with one last out.
Finally, on his 100th and last pitch, he caught Vinny Capra looking on a 1–2 count.
Unlike a no-hittter, when teammates rush the pitcher, his teammates gave Kershaw space as he slowly walked off the mound. Then he spotted his family in the Loge section and waved. Kershaw stood by himself in front of the dugout as the cheers cascaded from every part of the ballpark. Then he walked down the dugout steps to his teammates and coaches.
The chase was finally over.
The last home start— Sept. 19, 2025
With retirement on the horizon, his teammates couldn’t resist giving Kershaw the spotlight before his final start at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw, who the previous afternoon had announced his plans to retire after the season, ran to the mound, turned around and noticed his teammates were still milling around the dugout.
Kershaw smiled and motioned for the other Dodgers to take the field. Kershaw also delayed his game face, waving to the crowd before throwing his first warmup pitch.
It was something that otherwise wouldn’t be considered, given Kershaw’s fabled intensity on game days.
San Francisco’s Heliot Ramos hit a leadoff home run, but Kershaw settled down and allowed one run on three hits in the next 4 1/3 innings. When he struck out Rafael Devers for the first out of the fifth inning, Roberts took out Kershaw, who left to a standing ovation.
The final out — Oct. 27, 2025
Kershaw made the World Series roster, but with the NLCS dominance of starting pitchers Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, would there be a role for Kershaw in relief?
That opportunity occurred during an 18-inning marathon in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium. Unlike Will Klein, the obscure rookie turned October legend by pitching the final four scoreless innings, the Dodgers only needed Kershaw for one out.
The Blue Jays loaded the bases in a 5–5 game in the 12th inning against reliever Emmet Sheehan. With two out, Kershaw was summoned to face the left-handed hitting Nathan Lukes.
When Lukes pulled an infield chopper toward second baseman Tommy Edman, Kershaw instinctively bolted toward first base. He wasn’t going to beat Lukes in a race, but it didn’t matter. Edman caught the ball on the second hop and flipped the ball out of his glove like he was pitching a horseshoe.
Kershaw could only stop and watch as Freeman snared the ball ahead of Lukes at first base.
The mission was over, but not the game. The man who struck out more than 3,000 batters saved the day with an infield dribbler.
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Kershaw, Part 3: The memorable games was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.