Kershaw looked gassed as he walked slowly off the mound, stopping in front of the third-base dugout, doffing his cap and tapping his chest to salute the sellout crowd of 53,536 and blowing a kiss to his wife and kids in the loge level.

Tom Carroll went to the game to chat with L.A. Times sports reporters and fans to get a sense of what makes reaching 3000 career strikeouts so special.

Freddie Freeman had been keeping track of how many strikeouts Clayton Kershaw needed to reach 3,000 all season.