strikeout

Two days ago, Shohei Ohtani rolled into Dodger Stadium as a man on a mission.

After struggling for the previous couple weeks — mired in a postseason slump that had raised questions about everything from his out-of-sync swing mechanics to the physical toll of his two-way duties — the soon-to-be four-time MVP decided it was time to change something up.

Over the previous seven games, going back to the start of the National League Division Series, the $700-million man had looked nothing like himself. Ohtani had two hits in 25 at-bats. He’d recorded 12 strikeouts and plenty more puzzling swing decisions. And he seemed, in the estimation of some around the team, unusually perturbed as public criticisms of his play started to mount.

So, during the team’s off-day workout Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, ahead of Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, Ohtani informed the club’s hitting coaches he wanted to take batting practice on the field.

It was a change from his normal routine — and signaled his growing urgency to get back on track.

“If this was a regular-season situation and you’re looking at an expanse of small sample — eight, nine games, whatever it might be — he probably wouldn’t be out on the field,” manager Dave Roberts said later.

But “with the urgency [of] the postseason,” the manager continued, Ohtani “wanted to make an adjustment on his own.”

Whatever Ohtani found that day, evidently (and resoundingly) clicked. He led off Game 3 with a triple. He entered Game 4 looking more comfortable with his swing. And then, in one of the incredible individual displays ever witnessed in playoff history, he lifted the Dodgers straight into the World Series.

In a 5-1 defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers that completed an NLCS sweep and gave the Dodgers their 26th pennant in franchise history, Ohtani hit three home runs as a hitter, and struck out 10 batters over six-plus scoreless innings as a pitcher.

Shohei Ohtani pitches during Game 4 of the NLCS against the Brewers. Ohtani struck out 10 over six scoreless innings for the Dodgers.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

He made his previously disappointing playoffs a suddenly forgotten memory, earning NLCS MVP honors and to the astonished amazement of all 52,883 in attendance.

And he delivered the kind of game the baseball world dreamed about when the two-way phenom first arrived from Japan, fulfilling the prophecy that accompanied him as a near-mythical prospect eight years earlier.

Back then, Ohtani’s 100-mph fastball and wicked off-speed repertoire had tantalized evaluators. His majestic left-handed swing had tortured pitchers in his home country.

Not since Babe Ruth had the sport seen anything like him.

There were some early growing pains (and injuries) during his transition to the majors. But over the last five years, he blossomed in the game’s definitive face.

A look at the three home runs Shohei Ohtani hit in Game 4 of the NLCS on Friday.

All that had been missing, in a resume chock full of MVPs and All-Star selections and unthinkable records even “The Great Bambino” never produced, was a signature performance in October. A game in which he dominated on the mound, thrilled at the plate, and single-handedly transformed a game on the sport’s biggest stage.

During that Wednesday workout this week, Ohtani got himself ready for one, stepping into the cage during his on-field batting practice — as his walk-up song played through the stadium speakers and teammates gathered near the dugout in curious anticipation — and swatting one home run after another, including one that soared to the roof of the right-field pavilion.

On Friday, in an almost unimaginable showcase of his unprecedented talents, he managed to do exactly the same thing.

After stranding a leadoff walk in the top of the first with three-straight strikeouts, Ohtani switched from pitcher to hitter and unleashed a hellacious swing. Brewers starter José Quintana left him an inside slurve. Ohtani turned it into the first leadoff home run ever by a pitcher (in the regular season or playoffs). The ball traveled 446 feet. It landed high up the right-field stands.

Three more scoreless innings of pitching work later, Ohtani came back to the plate and hit his second home run of the night even farther. In a swing almost identical to his titanic BP drive two days prior, he launched a ball that darn near clipped the pavilion roof again, a 469-foot moonshot that landed in the concourse above the seats in right.

Somehow, there was still plenty more to come.

With the Dodgers up 4-0 at that point, Ohtani then did his best work as a pitcher, following up two strikeouts that stranded a leadoff double in the fourth — and had him excitedly fist-pumping off the mound — with two more in both the fifth and the sixth.

His fastball was humming up to triple-digits. His sweeper and cutter were keeping the Brewers off balance. His splitter wasn’t touched once any of the five times they tried to swing at it.

Shohei Ohtani runs the bases after hitting his third home run of the game against the Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Anything he did immediately became magic.

Ohtani’s loudest roar came in the bottom of the seventh, after his pitching start had ended on a walk and a single led off the top half of the inning.

For the third time, he flung his bat at a pitch over the plate. He sent a fly ball sailing deep in a mild autumn night. He rounded the bases as landed beyond the center field fence.

Three home runs. Six immaculate innings. A tour de force that sent the Dodgers to the World Series.

All of it, just two days removed from Ohtani being seemingly at his lowest.

All of it, when the baseball world was most closely watching.

Dodgers players and coaches celebrate after sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

At 5:37 p.m. Wednesday, Michael Buble’s “Feeling Good” blared from the Dodger Stadium speakers.

Shohei Ohtani came strolling to the plate with a bat in his hands.

There was no one in the stands, of course. Nor an opposing pitcher on the mound. The Dodgers, on this workout day after returning from Milwaukee, were still some 22 hours away from resuming their National League Championship Series against the Brewers. For any other player, it would have been a routine affair.

Ohtani, however, is not just any player.

And among the many things that make him unique, his habit of almost never taking batting practice on the field is one of the small but notable ones.

Which made his decision to do so Wednesday a telling development.

Over the last two weeks, Ohtani has been in a slump. Since the start of the NL Division Series, he is just two-for-25 with a whopping 12 strikeouts. He has been smothered by left-handed pitching. He has made poor swing decisions and failed to slug the ball.

Last week, manager Dave Roberts went so far as to say the Dodgers were “not gonna win the World Series with that sort of performance” from their $700-million slugger.

Thus, out Ohtani came for batting practice on Wednesday in the most visible sign yet of his urgency for a turnaround.

“The other way to say it is that, if I hit, we will win,” Ohtani said in Japanese when asked about Roberts’ World Series quote earlier Wednesday afternoon. “I think he thinks that if I hit, we will win. I’d like to do my best to do that.”

In Roberts’ view, Ohtani has already started improving from his woeful NLDS, when he struck out nine times in 18 trips to the plate against a left-handed-heavy Philadelphia Phillies staff that, as president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman emphatically put it, had “the most impressive execution against a hitter I’ve ever seen.”

In Game 1 of the NLCS against the Brewers, Ohtani was 0-for-two but walked three times; twice intentionally but another on a more disciplined five-pitch at-bat to lead off the game against left-handed opener Aaron Ashby.

The following night, he went only one-for-five with three more strikeouts, giving him 15 this postseason, second-most in the playoffs. But he did have an RBI single, marking his first run driven in since Game 2 of the NLDS. He followed that with a steal, swiping his first bag of the playoffs. And earlier in the game, he scorched a lineout to right at 115.2 mph, the hardest he’d hit a ball since taking Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene deep in the team’s postseason opener.

“The first two games in Milwaukee, his at-bats have been fantastic,” Roberts said Wednesday, before heading out to the field and watching Ohtani’s impromptu BP session.

“That’s what I’ve been looking for. That’s what I’m counting on,” he added, while noting the careful approach the Brewers have also taken with the soon-to-be four-time MVP. “You can only take what they give you. So for me, I think he’s in a good spot right now.”

Shohei Ohtani puts the ball in play in the third inning during Game 4 of the NLDS.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Ohtani’s overall numbers, of course, continue to suggest otherwise. His .147 postseason batting average is second-worst on the team, ahead of only Andy Pages. His seven-game drought without an extra-base hit is longer than any he endured in the regular season.

“The first thing I have to do is increase the level of my at-bats,” Ohtani said in Japanese. “Swing at strikes and not swing at balls.”

On Wednesday, Ohtani’s slump also led to questions about his role as a two-way player, and whether his return to pitching this season (and, this October, doing it for the first time in the playoffs) has contributed to his sudden struggles at the plate.

After all, on days Ohtani pitched this season, he hit .222 with four home runs but 21 strikeouts. On the days immediately following an outing, he batted .147 with two home runs and 10 strikeouts.

His current slump began with a hitless, four-strikeout dud in Game 1 of the NLDS, when he also made a six-inning, three-run start on the mound.

And in days since, Roberts has acknowledged some likely correlation between Ohtani’s two roles.

“[His offense] hasn’t been good when he’s pitched,” Roberts said following the NLDS. “We’ve got to think through this and come up with a better game plan.”

Ohtani, on the other hand, pushed back somewhat on that narrative during Wednesday’s workout, in which he also threw a bullpen session in preparation for his next start in Game 4 of the NLCS on Friday.

While it is “more physically strenuous” to handle both roles, he conceded, he countered that “I don’t know if there’s a direct correlation.”

“Physically,” he added, “I don’t feel like there’s a connection.”

Instead, Ohtani on Wednesday went about fixing his swing the way any other normal hitter would. He went out on the field for his rare session of batting practice. Of his 32 swings, he sent 14 over the fence, including one that clanked off the roof of the right-field pavilion.

“Certainly, there’s frustration,” Roberts said of how he’s seen Ohtani handle his uncharacteristic lack of performance.

But, he added, “that’s expected. I don’t mind it. I like the edge.”

“He’s obviously a very, very talented player, and we’re counting on him,” Roberts continued. “He’s just a great competitor. He’s very prepared. And there’s still a lot of baseball left.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he would be scoreboard watching on Sunday afternoon.

But he insisted he didn’t care how things played out.

His team, of course, had already been locked in as the National League’s No. 3 seed, set to host a best-of-three wild card series at Dodger Stadium starting Tuesday.

What wasn’t clear until the end of play on Sunday, however, was whether the Dodgers would be facing the Cincinnati Reds or New York Mets to open the postseason.

“I honestly don’t really care, I really don’t,” Roberts said. “I think the way we’re playing right now, it doesn’t matter who we play.”

In a photo finish for the NL’s final wild-card berth, it was the Reds who earned the final ticket to the postseason, clinching in spite of their Sunday loss to the Milwaukee Brewers thanks to the Mets’ defeat in Miami at the hand of the Marlins.

Thus, it will be the Reds coming to Chavez Ravine this week, trying to halt the Dodgers’ defense of last year’s championship.

“It’s a gritty group. It’s a hungry group. It’s certainly a younger group,” Roberts said after the matchup was set. “These guys are going to be coming in to win a series. They’re feeling really good about themselves. So we’ve got to focus on ourselves and take it to them.”

Here are nine things to know about the Reds ahead of Game 1 at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday at 6:08 p.m. (ESPN):

Nico Hoerner had an RBI double against former teammate Kyle Hendricks and the Chicago Cubs beat the Angels 4-3 Sunday to complete a three-game series sweep.

Hoerner and Matt Shaw each had two hits in backing right-hander Jameson Taillon (9-6), who allowed one run in five innings as the Cubs improved to 8-2 in winning their third straight series. Right-hander Daniel Palencia worked out of a ninth-inning jam for his 20th save.

Taylor Ward hit his 30th homer for the Angels, who fell to 2-7 since a three-game sweep of the Dodgers.

Hendricks (6-9) gave up four runs on five hits over 4⅓ innings with three walks and two strikeouts in his first start against his former club. He joined the Angels this season after 11 seasons with Chicago, where he played a key role in their 2016 World Series title.

Ward reached 30 homers for the first time in his career with a first-inning blast for a 1-0 lead.

Kyle Tucker had a game-tying RBI single in the third inning and Hoerner had his run-scoring double in the fourth. The Cubs chased Hendricks in the fifth when they got a sacrifice fly from Pete Crow-Armstrong and an RBI single from Carson Kelly for a 4-1 lead.

The Angels pulled within a run in the sixth on an RBI double by Ward and a run-scoring grounder by Luis Rengifo.

Key moment: After he walked the go-ahead run with one out in the ninth, Palencia struck out rookie Christian Moore on a full-count, 99.9-mph fastball, then ended it with a strikeout of Bryce Teodoso.

Key stat: Tucker went five for 12 with three home runs and seven RBIs in the series, after he was given a three-game rest against Milwaukee last week,

Up next: Angels RHP Jose Soriano (8-9, 4.00 ERA) will face Texas on Monday.

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tie-breaking homer in the ninth inning and Kyle Tucker went deep for the first time in more than a month as the Chicago Cubs beat the Angels 3-2 on Friday night to open a nine-game trip.

Crow-Armstrong connected for a solo shot off Kenley Jansen (5-4) with one out, his 28th home run this season and first in his last 25 games.

Tucker also ended a 25-game drought with a solo drive off Tyler Anderson in the first — his first longball since July 19.

Yoán Moncada homered twice for the Angels, including a tying shot in the seventh. It was his first multihomer game with the Angels (61-67).

Javier Assad allowed one run in six innings for the Cubs (74-55) after being recalled from triple-A Iowa before the game. He took a no-hitter into the fifth before Moncada homered.

Brad Keller (4-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Daniel Palencia struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 19th save.

Anderson permitted two runs and three hits in five innings with five strikeouts and two walks. He’s gone 21 straight starts without a win.

Key moment: Crow-Armstrong was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts when he stepped to the plate in the ninth, but he got a 92 mph cutter over the heart of the plate from Jansen and sent it 396 feet into the right-field stands.

Key stat: Tucker’s 25-game home-run drought was his longest since his rookie season in 2018.

Up next: Angels RHP Victor Mederos (0-1, 5.54 ERA) faces Cubs RHP Cade Horton (7-4, 3.08) on Saturday in a matchup of rookie starters.

The Little League team from Honolulu has a chance to become a three-time world champion.

Winners of the Little League World Series in 2018 and 2022, the team from Hawaii earned a spot in this year’s World Series on Thursday night with a 4-1 win over Fullerton Golden Hill in San Bernardino. They will travel to Williamsport, Pa., where the World Series begins on Wednesday.

Golden Hill’s only two losses came from Honolulu, including a 1-0 loss to start the tournament. It was the first time in the league’s 69-year history that a team had advanced to the West Region final.

Pitcher Bronson Fermahin took advantage of his team scoring three runs in the first two innings by throwing lots of strikes. He had eight strikeouts through the first four innings and finished with 11 in 5 ⅔ innings before Golden Hill pushed across a run with two outs in the sixth.

Fullerton Golden Hill pitcher Lincoln Ploog struck out 10 in a loss.

(Craig Weston)

Lincoln Ploog of Golden Hill was brought in to pitch with two outs in the first inning. He hit three batters but finished with 10 strikeouts in 4 ⅓ innings.

Honolulu scored two runs in the first on an RBI single from Evan Crawford and a bases-loaded hit batter. An RBI double in the second by Kuana Payanal provided a 3-0 lead. Mason Mitani hit a home run in the fifth. Golden Hill scored a run in the sixth. Fermahin had to leave because of pitch count with two outs in the sixth. Mitani came in to get the final out, catching a broken-bat line drive.

Golden Hill showed off two future standouts in Ploog and infielder Gavin Janicke, who came in with four hits in eight at-bats. Janicke struck out 14 in a win on Wednesday and wasn’t eligible to pitch Thursday.

Jo Adell hit a two-run homer, Yusei Kikuchi surrendered four hits in six innings and the Angels beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 on Monday night.

The Rays (55-59) struck in the opening inning when Yandy Díaz doubled to right and scored on Junior Caminero’s sacrifice fly to center field. Kikuchi (5-7) escaped without further damage and finished with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Angels pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts.

Yoán Moncada reached on a fielder’s choice for the Angels in the second inning before Adell launched a 428-foot homer to left-center off Adrian Houser (6-3), putting the Angels (55-58) ahead 2-1.

The Angels made it 4-1 in the third inning on Taylor Ward‘s two-run single. Bryce Teodosio doubled in the sixth and Zach Neto drove him in with a double of his own that put the Angels up 5-1.

Ward and Teodosio both had three hits.

Houser worked 5⅔ innings, yielding 11 hits and five runs while striking out three.

Christopher Morel finished 0 for 4 with four strikeouts for the Rays.

Key moment: Nolan Schanuel was hit by a pitch, and Mike Trout doubled to left field to open the third inning. Ward followed with a single to center that drove both runners in and gave the Angels a three-run lead.

Key stat: Ward and Teodosio both had three hits.

Up next: The Rays and Angels face off again Tuesday night. RHP Ryan Pepiot (6-9, 3.80 ERA) is expected to start for Tampa Bay against RHP José Soriano (7-8, 3.65 ERA) for Angels.

Mike Trout hit a two-run homer in a four-run fifth inning to reach 1,000 career RBIs, and the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1 on Sunday.

Kyle Hendricks (6-7) gave up one run on two hits over six-plus innings and Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 18th save as the Angels earned a split of the four-game series.

Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 41st home run for the Mariners.

The Angels broke a scoreless tie when Kevin Newman’s grounder brought home Travis d’Arnaud in the fifth. Luis Rengifo then scored on Logan Gilbert’s wild pitch.

Trout crushed a 443-foot drive to center field off Gilbert to give him 1,001 RBIs. It was his 397th career homer and 19th this season.

Raleigh connected against Hendricks in the seventh, his second home run in two nights and fourth this year against Los Angeles.

Hendricks, who had one walk and three strikeouts, won for the first time since June 17.

Gilbert (3-4) gave up four runs and three hits over five innings with seven strikeouts.

Key moment: Angels center fielder Jo Adell kept Seattle off the scoreboard in the sixth when he reached above the wall to take away a home run from J.P. Crawford.

Key stat: Trout became the third player to get his first 1,000 RBIs entirely in an Angels uniform, following Garret Anderson and Tim Salmon.

Up next: Angels right-hander Jack Kochanowicz (3-9, 6.03) is expected to start Monday against Texas.

Tyler Glasnow’s problems have been the same for years.

Spending too much time caught up in his own head, and not enough time actually pitching on the mound.

Ever since the Dodgers acquired the tall, lanky and Southern California-raised right-hander, those two issues have plagued the $136.5-million acquisition in ways that have frustrated him, the team and its fan base.

Glasnow made 22 starts last year (a career-high in his injury-plagued career) before a nagging elbow problem ended his season early. This term, he managed only five starts before his shoulder started barking, landing him on the injured list for another extended stint.

Through it all, Glasnow has talked repeatedly about the need to be more “external” on the mound — focused more on execution and compete-level than the aches and pains in his body and imperfections in his delivery.

Yet, with each new setback, the veteran pitcher was left scrambling for answers, constantly tinkering with his mechanics and toiling with his mindset in hopes of striking an equilibrium between both.

That’s why, as Glasnow neared his latest return to action, he tried to simplify things. For real, this time.

No more worrying about spine angle and release point. No more mid-game thoughts about the many moving parts in his throwing sequence.

“I don’t even know,” he said when asked last week how he changed his mechanics during his most recent absence, the kind of physical ignorance that might actually be a good thing in the 31-year-old’s case.

“I’m just going out and being athletic and not trying to look at it. And if there’s something I need to fix, or something the coaches see, then I’ll worry about it. But I’m just going out … [and] getting in that rhythm. Getting back into a starting routine.”

Two starts in, that new routine looks promising.

After pitching five solid innings of one-run ball in Milwaukee last week, Glasnow started the second half of the season with another step forward Friday, spinning a six-inning, one-run gem in the Dodgers’ 2-0 loss to the Brewers at Dodger Stadium.

“I’ve been feeling good since rehab, making changes and stuff,” Glasnow said. “Feel solid right now. So gotta keep going.”

As the Dodgers (58-40) came out of the All-Star break, few players seemed as pivotal to their long-term success as Glasnow.

The club is counting on him and fellow nine-figure free-agent signee Blake Snell (who, like Glasnow, missed almost all of the first half with a shoulder injury but could be back in action by the end of the month) to bolster a rotation that has missed them dearly.

It is hopeful they can join Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and in some capacity Shohei Ohtani, at the forefront of a pitching staff seeking significant improvement as it tries to repeat as World Series champions.

Granted, the Dodgers — who would like to avoid adding a starting pitcher at the trade deadline, and might have a hard time finding an impact addition such as Jack Flaherty last summer even if they try — did have similar hopes for Glasnow last season.

Even when he first went down with his elbow injury in mid-August, the initial expectation was that he’d be back well in time for the playoff push.

Instead, Glasnow’s elbow never ceased to bother him. When he tried ramping up for a live batting practice session in mid-September, he effectively pulled the plug on his season when his arm still didn’t feel right.

Ever since, Glasnow has lived in a world of frustration, spending his winter trying to craft a healthier delivery only to run into more problems within the first month of this season.

“Certainly the talent is undeniable,” manager Dave Roberts said last week, ahead of Glasnow’s return. “But I think for me, for us, you want the dependability. That’s something that I’m looking for from Tyler from here on out. To know what you’re going to get when he takes that ball every fifth or sixth day.”

On Friday, Glasnow produced a template worth following in a four-hit, one-walk, six-strikeout showing.

Flashing increased fastball velocity for the second-straight outing — routinely hitting 98-99 mph on the gun — he filled up the strike zone early, going after hitters with his premium four-seamer and increasing reliance on a late-breaking sinker.

“It’s like the one pitch I can be late with, and it’s in the zone,” Glasnow said of his sinker, which he had thrown sparingly prior to getting hurt. “I don’t necessarily have to be perfectly timed up for it to have a lot of movement. I think if I’m late on it, it’s kind of my go-to.”

His big-bending curveball, meanwhile, proved to be a perfect complement, with Glasnow pulling the string for awkward swings and soft contact.

He retired the first five batters he faced, and didn’t let a ball out of the infield until Brice Turang’s two-out single in the third. He was late getting to the mound at the start of the fourth, resulting in an automatic ball to the leadoff batter, but remained unfazed, retiring the side in order.

Milwaukee’s Caleb Durbin hits a run-scoring double in front of Dodgers catcher Will Smith in the fifth inning Friday.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Glasnow did wobble in the fifth against Milwaukee (57-40). Suddenly struggling to locate the ball, he walked leadoff hitter Isaac Collins on five pitches before giving up an RBI double to Caleb Durbin in a 2-and-0 count, when he left a sinker over the heart of the plate.

But then he settled down, escaped the inning without further damage, and worked around a high-hopping one-out single from Jackson Chourio in the sixth by striking out William Contreras and Christian Yelich.

“It’s not turn [my brain] off completely,” Glasnow said of his new, in-the-moment mentality. “But it’s not like, when I’m feeling bad, I resort more to, ‘How do we fix this?’ As opposed to like, ‘This is what I got today. Let’s just go get it.’ And I think a lot of that was due to the changes. I’m just in a better position right now to go out and be athletic.”

The outing marked Glasnow’s first time completing six innings since April 13 against the Chicago Cubs, and was his first such start yielding only one earned run since June of last year.

“He’s been able to stay in his rhythm, stay in his delivery, just be in compete mode,” Roberts said. “I think he’s in a really good spot. He’s healthy, feeling confident. And we’re better for it, for sure.”

Unfortunately for Glasnow, he was the second-best pitcher on the bump Friday. Opposite him, young Brewers right-hander Quinn Priester dominated the Dodgers over six scoreless innings, recording the second-most strikeouts of his career by fanning 10. Struggling veteran Kirby Yates didn’t help in relief of Glasnow, either, giving up a home run to Durbin in the seventh that sent the Dodgers to a disappointing defeat.

“They’re pitching us well,” Roberts said of the Brewers, who have won four straight games against the Dodgers over the last two weeks while giving up only four total runs. “We gave ourselves a chance, but we just couldn’t muster anything together tonight.”

Still, for a team with a comfortable division lead and the shortest World Series odds of any club in the majors, getting good starting pitching remains the most pressing big-picture concern for the Dodgers.

At the end of last year, and for much of the first half this season, Glasnow was unable to help. Now, he might finally be showing flashes he can.

“[I want to] just go out and be athletic,” Glasnow said last week. “Just go out and compete.”

Marcus Semien went four for five and Corey Seager hit a two-run single in a seven-run third inning to help the Texas Rangers rout the Angels 11-4 on Thursday night for a split of their four-game series.

Patrick Corbin (6-7) allowed two runs and seven hits with six strikeouts in five innings to win his second consecutive start. Jacob Latz allowed a run over 3 1/3 innings of relief with six strikeouts.

Semien had three hits with an RBI and two runs scored in the first three innings. Seager went two for three as seven of nine starters drove in at least one run for Texas during a 13-hit outburst.

Adolis García launched his 11th homer — a two-run shot off Carson Fulmer in the eighth for the Rangers’ final runs.

Jack Kochanowicz (3-9) lasted just 2 2/3 innings for the Angels, allowing eight runs. Fulmer gave up three runs in 5 1/3 innings of relief.

Seager, Semien, García and Jonah Heim had four straight singles for a 2-0 lead in the first.

Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter had RBI singles and Jake Burger added an RBI double in Texas’ big inning.

Zach Neto doubled off Corbin and scored on Taylor Ward’s 21st homer to cut it to 9-2 after five. Lamonte Wade Jr. had an RBI single in the sixth and Neto hit his 14th homer — a solo shot off Dane Dunning in the ninth.

Key moment: Corbin gave up three first-inning singles, but the Angels failed to score when Mike Trout hit into a double play and Ward was thrown out at home by García on Jo Adell’s single to right field.

Key stat: The Rangers’ 3.30 ERA leads the majors, while the Angels’ 4.59 ERA ranks 24th among 30 teams.

Up next: The Angels host the Diamondbacks beginning Friday. Neither team had announced a scheduled starter.

MILWAUKEE — The game plan, manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday afternoon, was simple.

As the Dodgers prepared to face Milwaukee Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski, a hard-throwing and supremely talented right-hander making just his fifth career MLB start, the club’s manager repeated one key multiple times during his pregame address with reporters:

“Stress him as much as we can.”

Given Misiorowski’s inexperience, the idea was to work long at-bats, drive up his pitch count and “be mindful of [making] quick outs,” Roberts said.

The Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski shouts during the sixth inning of a game against the Dodgers Tuesday in Milwaukee.

(Aaron Gash / Associated Press)

“If he’s got to keep repeating pitches, there might be a way for some base hits, some walks,” he added. “Again, create stress, and hopefully get a couple big hits.”

A big hit came early, with Shohei Ohtani leading off the game with his 31st home run of the season. But after that, the only stress evident at American Family Field on Tuesday came from the Dodgers’ lineup, which struck out 12 times against Misiorowski during a 3-1 loss to the Brewers. It was the Dodgers’ fifth straight loss.

The Ks came quickly following Ohtani’s early blast (his ninth leadoff home run of the season, and one that set a new Dodgers record for total home runs before the All-Star break).

Mookie Betts fanned on a slider in the next at-bat. Freddie Freeman whiffed on a curveball after him. Andy Pages froze on a 100.8 mph fastball, one of 21 triple-digit pitches Misiorowski uncorked from his wiry 6-foot-7, 197-pound frame.

Misiorowski struck out three more batters in the second to strand a two-out Dalton Rushing single. He worked around Miguel Rojas’ leadoff double in the third with two more punchouts, getting Ohtani with a curveball this time and Freeman with the same pitch after a generous strike call got the count full.

From there, the Dodgers didn’t stress Misorowski again until the sixth, when Ohtani drew a leadoff walk and Betts slapped a single through the infield. With one out, however, Ohtani was thrown at the plate trying to score from third on Pages’ chopper up the line. Then Michael Conforto grounded out to first to retire the side, sending Misorowski skipping back to the dugout with a few thumps of his chest at the end of a six-inning, one-run start that saw all 12 strikeouts come the first five frames (tying the most strikeouts by any MLB pitcher in the first five innings of a game since 2008).

Opposite Misiorowski, Dodgers veteran Clayton Kershaw produced a solid six-inning, two-run start in a vastly different way. With his fastball still topping out at 90 mph, and the 37-year-old managing only three strikeouts in his first start since joining the 3,000 club last week, Kershaw instead navigated the Brewers with a string of soft contact.

The only problem: The Brewers still found a way to build a rally in the bottom of the fourth.

After singling on a swinging bunt up the third-base line his first time up, Milwaukee catcher William Contreras did the same thing to lead off the inning. Then Jackson Chourio beat the shift on a ground ball the other way.

That set up Andrew Vaughn for a line-drive RBI single to center, tying the score. In the next at-bat, Isaac Collins also found a hole in the infield, sneaking another ground-ball single between Betts and Rojas on the left side of the infield to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead.

Even after Misiorowski departed, a shorthanded Dodgers lineup (which was once again without injured veterans Teoscar Hernández and Tommy Edman, as well as primary catcher Will Smith on a scheduled off day) couldn’t claw its way back.

The Brewers’ bullpen retired all nine batters it faced. Sal Frelick took Kirby Yates deep for an insurance run in the eighth. And on a day the Dodgers intended to create stress, they were instead dealing with the headache of a season-long five-game losing streak.

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 die-hard 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 number “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 a major milestone in Dodgers history, but it meant more 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.”

It wasn’t so much the culmination of a career as it was another signpost pointing the way to the Hall of Fame.

It certainly wasn’t the last pitch Clayton Kershaw will ever throw for the Dodgers, but it will likely be among the most memorable.

Because when Chicago White Sox third baseman Vinny Capra took a 1-2 slider for a strike to end the sixth inning Wednesday night, Kershaw became just the 20^th pitcher in major league history to record 3,000 strikeouts.

More people have flown to the moon than have struck out 3,000 major league hitters. And for Kershaw, who has been chasing history since he threw his first big-league pitch as a skinny 20-year-old, entering such an elite club will be a big piece of his legacy.

Only now he has the wisdom and the grace to realize it was never about him in the first place.

“It’s an incredible list. I’m super, super grateful to be a part of it,” Kershaw said. “But if you don’t have anybody to celebrate with, it’s just doesn’t matter.”

Kershaw would know since he’s one of the most decorated players in history. Twice a 20-game winner, a five-time ERA champion and two-time world champion, he’s won three Cy Young Awards, was a league MVP and is a 10-time all-star.

“The individual stuff,” he repeated “is only as important as the people around you.”

So while Kershaw stood out when reached the 3K milestone on the 100^th and final pitch he threw in the Dodgers’ 5-4 win, he refused to stand apart, pausing on his way off the field to point at his family sitting in their usual seats in the front row of the loge section. He then accepted hugs from teammates Mookie Betts and Kiké Hernández.

But he saved his warmest embrace for manager Dave Roberts, who bounded up the dugout steps to greet him.

“We’ve been through a lot together,” said Roberts, who has guided Kershaw through doubts and disappointments, through high points and lows in their 10 years together.

“I’m one of the few people in uniform that has been through them,” Roberts said. “That was kind of what the embrace was.”

Kershaw, 37, is just the fourth left-hander to reach 3,000 strikeouts but more important, he said, is the fact he’s just the second in a century, after Bob Gibson, to do it with the same team. No pitcher, in fact, has spent more years in a Dodger uniform that Kershaw.

“I don’t know if I put a ton of stock in being with one team early on,” he said. “Over time you get older and appreciate one organization a little bit more. Doc [Roberts] stuck with me, too. It hasn’t been all roses, I know that.

“So there’s just a lot of mutual respect and I’m super grateful now, looking back, to get to say that I spent my whole career here. And I will spend my whole career here.”

Kershaw struck out the first batter he faced in his Dodger debut 18 years ago, getting the Cardinals’ Skip Schumaker to wave at a 1-2 pitch. It was the first of three strikeouts he would record in his first big-league inning. So even from the start, the K in Kershaw — the scorebook symbol for a strikeout — stood out more than than the rest of the name.

In between Schumaker and Capra, Kershaw fanned nearly 1,000 different hitters, from CJ Abrams and Bobby Abreu to Ryan Zimmerman and Barry Zito.

He’s stuck out (Jason) Castro and (Buddy) Kennedy, Elvis (Andrus) and (Alex) Presley and (Billy) Hamilton and (Alex) Jackson. He’s whiffed (Scott) Cousins and brothers (Bengie and Yadier Molina), a (Chin-lung) Hu and a Yu (Darvish), a Cook (Aaron) and a (Jeff) Baker as well as a Trout (Mike) and multiple Marlins (Miami).

Former Giant Brandon Belt was Kershaw’s most frequent victim, striking out 30 times in 62 at-bats. Fewer than 50 batters have faced him at least five times without striking out, according to Baseball Reference.

Along the way Kershaw’s unique windup, the right knee pausing as he lifts both hands just above his cap, has become an instantly recognizable silhouette for a generation of Dodger fans.

There’s only one other left-hander in team history that can compare with Kershaw, yet he and Sandy Koufax are so different the comparisons are more contrasts than anything.

Kershaw has been brilliant over the entirety of his 18-year career, winning 10 or more games 12 times. He’s never finished a season with a losing record and his career ERA of 2.52 is the lowest of the last 105 years for pitchers who are thrown at least 1,500 innings. Even at 37, he’s unbeaten in four decisions.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw walks off the mound after recording his 3,000th career strikeout as right fielder Andy Pages, left, and first baseman Freddie Freeman, right, react behind him.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Koufax was 36-40 with an ERA above 4.00 through his first six seasons. And while Koufax’s career was ended by injury before his 31^st birthday, Kershaw has pushed through repeated problems with his back, shoulder, knee, toe, elbow, pelvis and forearm.

Only Don Sutton has won more games in a Dodger uniform than the 216 that belong to Kershaw, who will soon be enshrined next to Koufax and Sutton in the Hall of Fame.

“Early on they were talking about this next Sandy Koufax guy, this big left-hander. Really didn’t have an idea where the ball was going, but pretty special,” said Roberts, who retired as a player after Kershaw’s rookie season. “It’s much better to be wearing the same uniform as him.”

But Roberts has seen the other side, when the young promise gives way to pitfalls. He’s seen Kershaw battle so many injuries, he’s spent nearly as much time on the injured list as in the rotation over the past five seasons. Alongside the brilliance, he’s seen the uncertainty.

So with Kershaw approaching history Wednesday, Roberts loosened the leash, letting him go back to the mound for the sixth inning despite having thrown 92 pitches, his most in more than two years.

“I wanted to give Clayton every opportunity,” he said. “You could see the emotion that he had today, trying to get that third strike. But I think it just happened the way it’s supposed to happen, in the sense that it was the third out [and] we got a chance to really celebrate him.”

Each time Kershaw got to two strikes, something he did to 15 of the 27 hitters he faced, “I said a few Hail Marys” Roberts said.

“It’s the last box for Clayton to check in his tremendous career,” he added, saying he doubted many more pitchers will ever reach 3,000 strikeouts. “You’ve got to stay healthy, you’ve got to be good early in your career, you’ve got to be good for a long time.”

And Kershaw has been all of that.

That, Roberts said, was behind the second long hug he and his pitcher shared in the dugout Wednesday night as a highlight reel of Kershaw’s career played on the video boards above both outfield pavilions. The sellout crowd, which had long been on its feet, continuing cheering, eventually drawing Kershaw back out onto the field to doff his cap in appreciation.

“That ovation,” he said “was something that I’ll never forget, for sure.”

Because who wants to celebrate alone?

The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw’s road to 3,000 strikeouts started in his very first game, when he struck out Skip Schumaker of the St. Louis Cardinals on May 25, 2008. His illustrious career reached another peak in 2015 when he became one of only 19 pitchers in baseball history to reach 300 strikeouts in a season.

(Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Clayton Kershaw made his major league debut and pitched six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2008, striking out seven.

(Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press)

Clayton Kershaw delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Marlins on May 17, 2009, in Miami. Kershaw struck out nine in seven innings.

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1. (Chris Carlson / Associated Press) 2. (Chris Carlson / Associated Press)

Kershaw celebrates his no-hitter with his teammates against the Rockies on June 18, 2014. Kershaw struck out a career-high 15 batters.

(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

Clayton Kershaw tips his cap to fans after being taken out in the fourth inning against the Padres on Oct. 4, 2015. Kershaw reached 300 strikeouts in a season during the third inning.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Clayton Kershaw drops to the ground after giving up a home run to the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo in the fifth inning of Game 6 of the NLCS at Wrigley Field on Oct. 22, 2016.

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1. Clayton Kershaw comes into the game for a relief appearance against the Astros in Game 7 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on November 1, 2017 (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 2. Clayton Kershaw (22) throws a strike against Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) in the fourth inning of Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 24, 2017. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) 3. Clayton Kershaw strikes out Yuli Gurriel to end the third inning for the Astros in Game 7 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on November 1, 2017. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)) 4. Dodger fans cheer as pitcher Clayton Kershaw gets a strikeout against the Astros in the first inning in Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 24, 2017. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Kershaw wasn’t able to lift the Dodgers past the Astros in the 2017 World Series. It was later discovered the Astros were cheating.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Clayton Kershaw celebrates after striking out the Washington Nationals’ Adam Eaton in relief to end the seventh inning in Game 5 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 9, 2019.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Clayton Kershaw throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the sixth inning in Game 5 of the World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Oct. 25, 2020.

(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

Clayton Kershaw throws a strike to the White Sox’s Vinny Capra for his 3,000th strikeout during the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night.

The slider was sizzling. The hitter was frozen. The strikeout was roaring.

With an 84-mph pitch on the black in the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox Wednesday at a rollicking Dodger Stadium, Clayton Kershaw struck out Vinny Capra looking to become the 20th player in baseball history to record 3,000 strikeouts.

As impressive as the pitch itself was the cementing of a truth that has taken nearly two decades to become evident.

Clayton Kershaw is the greatest pitcher in Dodgers history.

Clayton Kershaw records his 3,000th career strikeout as the Dodgers take on the Chicago White Sox at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.

(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

Greater than even the great Sandy Koufax.

Gasp. Scream. Please.

This opinion appeared here three years ago and was swarmed with a barrage of emphatic and mostly emotional arguments for Koufax.

How dare you diss our Sandy! Koufax won more championships! Koufax never choked in the postseason! Koufax was more dominant!

All true, Koufax being a tremendous human being worthy of every syllable of praise. But as Wednesday so clearly proved in front of a history-thirsty crowd at Chavez Ravine, Kershaw has done something that any defense of Koufax can not equal.

He’s endured. He’s taken the ball far more than Koufax while outlasting him in virtually every impact pitching category.

The Dodgers’ 5-4 victory Wednesday was the perfect illustration of the grinding that has lifted Kershaw to the Dodger heavens. He didn’t have his best stuff, he was battered by one of baseball’s worst teams for four runs on nine hits, but he fought through six innings to dramatically record his third strikeout and end his quest for 3,000 on his final hitter with his 100th pitch.

“I made it interesting, for sure,” Kershaw said afterward. “I made it take too long.”

When he took the mound at the start of the sixth, just one strikeout shy of 3,000, the crowd erupted in deafening screams previously only matched by a World Series win. When he breathtakingly struck out Capra — this was his last hitter regardless — he stalked off the mound and sighed and offered the thunderous crowd a sweaty wave.

“It’s a little bit harder when you’re actually trying to strike people out,” said Kershaw with a chuckle. “Running back out there in the sixth and hearing that crowd roar was up there for me, special moments…It was an amazing night.”

A young Dodgers fan holds up a sign that reads “3,000” to celebrate Clayton Kershaw’s strikeout milestone.

(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

In all, it was pure Kershaw, and it has been unmatched even by his legendary predecessor.

Koufax was a meteor, streaking across the sky for the greatest five seasons of any pitcher in baseball history.

Kershaw, meanwhile, has become his own planet, looming above for 18 years with a permanent glow that is unmatched in Dodgers lore.

Koufax was an amazing flash. Kershaw has been an enduring flame.

Koufax was Shaq. Kershaw is Kobe.

When this was previously written, manager Dave Roberts waffled on the question of whether Kershaw was the greatest Dodger pitcher ever.

This time, not so much.

“Obviously, Sandy is Sandy,” he said Wednesday. “You’re talking about 18 years, though, and the career of the body of work. It’s hard to not say Clayton, you know, is the greatest Dodger of all time.”

When one talks about the GOAT of various sports, indeed, a key element is always longevity. Tom Brady played 23 seasons, LeBron James has played 22 seasons and Babe Ruth played 22 seasons.

One cannot ignore the fact that Kershaw, in his 18th season, has played six more seasons than Koufax while pitching 463 more regular season innings. With his 3,000 strikeouts he has also fanned 604 more batters than Koufax, the equivalent of 22 more games composed solely of strikeouts, an unreal edge.

In the great Koufax debate, Kershaw is clearly being punished for his postseason struggles, and indeed his 4.49 postseason ERA doesn’t compare to Koufax’ 0.95 ERA.

But look at the sample size. Kershaw has pitched in 39 postseason games while Koufax has appeared in just eight. Kershaw has had 13 postseason starts that have lasted past the sixth inning while Koufax has had five.

Kershaw has pitched in multiple playoff rounds in multiple seasons, while Koufax never pitched in more than one playoff round per season, greatly increasing Kershaw’s opportunity for failure.

Kershaw has indeed stunk up the joint in some of the most devastating postseason losses in Dodger history. But he has taken the mound for nearly five times as many big games as Koufax and, in the end, he has just one fewer World Series championship.

“I’ve been through it, a lot, ups and downs here, more downs that I care to admit,” said Kershaw. “The fans … it was overwhelming to feel that.”

In the end, the strongest argument for Koufax supporters is the seemingly obvious answer to a question. If you had to win one game, would you start Koufax or Kershaw?

Of course you’d pitch Koufax … if your parameters were limited to five years. But if you wanted to pick a starter and you had to do it inside a two-decade window, you would take Kershaw.

Then there are those rarely recited stats that further the argument for Kershaw over Koufax: Kershaw has a better career ERA, 2.51 to 2.76. Kershaw has a better winning percentage, .697 to .655. And despite playing in an era where individual pitching wins are greatly cheapened, Kershaw has 51 more wins than Koufax.

How rare is 3,000 strikeouts? More pitchers have won 300 games. Only three other pitchers have done so left-handed. Only two pitchers in the last 100 years have done it with one team.

Now for the intangibles. If this is indeed the golden age of Dodger baseball — as Andrew Friedman so deftly described it — then the guardian of the era has been Kershaw.

The clubhouse culture is borne of his constantly present professionalism. The work ethic starts with him. The accountability is a reflection of him. For 18 years, through injury and embarrassment as well as fame and fortune, he has never complained, never blamed, never pointed fingers, never brought distraction.

And he always shows up for work. Every day. Every game. Every season. Clayton Kershaw has always been there, which is why he will be there forever on a statue that will surely be erected in the center field plaza next to the bronze figures of Jackie Robinson and, yes, of course, Sandy Koufax.

It is unlikely the Dodgers would ever script the words, “The greatest Dodger pitcher” on the base of his statue. They are understandably sensitive to Koufax and his legacy and importance to a legion of longtime fans.

But they know, just as those fans lucky enough to be at Dodger Stadium Wednesday know it.

They weren’t just watching greatness. They were watching The Greatest.

The transformation happened quickly in May 2009.

Early into his second year in the majors, a young Clayton Kershaw was enduring a sophomore slump with the Dodgers. Looking for a way to complement his predominantly fastball/curveball mix, he began toying around with a slider in his between-starts bullpen sessions.

When Brad Ausmus, the well-traveled 40-year-old backup catcher on that year’s Dodgers team, heard about the experiment, he didn’t initially think much of it. That a raw 21-year-old talent would be tinkering with a new pitch didn’t come as much of a surprise.

But when Ausmus asked the club’s bullpen catcher, Mike Borzello, how Kershaw’s new pitch looked, he got his first inkling it might be special.

“He was like, ‘It’s really good,’” Ausmus recalled recently. “I said, ‘Oh, so maybe he’ll throw it in a couple more bullpens before taking it into the game.’ And he’s like, ‘Ehh, I think he might take it into the game his next start.’”

A few weeks later, Ausmus got his first chance to see it up close, calling it sporadically in a Freeway Series game at Angel Stadium. That day, Kershaw spun a gem, throwing seven scoreless innings in a Dodgers victory.

But it was afterward, as Kershaw, Ausmus and longtime Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt reviewed the outing, that the longtime catcher started to understand that Kershaw wasn’t just any young pitcher. That his tantalizing talent was matched by a preternatural aptitude. That his precocious battery mate was both a physical force and pitching prodigy.

Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, left, talks with former teammate Brad Ausmus, right, and coach Matt Martin before a game in 2019, when Ausmus was the manager of the Angels.

(Alex Gallardo/AP)

“Keep in mind, this is a rookie, basically, talking to a guy who’s been in the big leagues 17, 18 years,” Ausmus said. “And he goes, ‘Brad, I wish you would call more sliders.’”

Initially surprised, Ausmus thought to himself: “Really? This is a brand new pitch. We probably threw 10 or 15 of them.”

But Kershaw could already see the bigger picture. He immediately sensed how the new pitch might profoundly influence his game.

“If you think about it, the fastball was 95, the curveball was probably in the low-to-mid 80s, so there was a lot of separation in terms of velocity. It almost gave the hitter time to reload before swinging,” Ausmus said. “The slider did not allow the hitters to do that.”

Seventeen years, three Cy Young Awards, two World Series titles, and — very nearly — 3,000 strikeouts later, the rest has been singularly impressive history.

“It speaks to not only his knowledge, but his ability and his confidence,” said Ausmus, now bench coach for the New York Yankees. “He has an aptitude for the game. He adjusts. And he continues to perform at a high level. It really is remarkable … I miss having that guy as a teammate.”

When Clayton Kershaw takes the mound on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, he will need just three strikeouts to become the 20th member of Major League Baseball’s 3,000 strikeout club.

And, just as it was almost two decades ago, it will be the same primary three-pitch mix that is all but certain to lift him into such rarified air.

For better or (very rarely) worse, at full strength or in ailing health, the now 37-year-old future Hall of Famer has managed to perfect one of the sport’s all-time signature plans of attack on the mound:

Establish the fastball on the edge of the plate for a strike. Tunnel the slider on the same trajectory to get awkward swings when it tails off late. Mix in a curveball when a change of pace is needed. And never be afraid to change the sequence and tendencies of that infallible trio of pitches, using instinct and feel to amplify his physical talent.

“It’s what’s upstairs [that makes him special],” current Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior said. “He’s always a step ahead.”

Countless big-league pitchers have used a similar fastball-slider-curveball repertoire. Even in Kershaw’s prime years, there were always others who could throw harder, or produce more break, or manipulate the ball with more gravity-defying spin.

What separates Kershaw are more foundational skills. His unwavering execution, in seasons he threw 200-plus innings or those in which he battled increasingly persistent injuries to his back, shoulder and even a bothersome left big toe. His unflappable persistence to move from one pitch, one start, one year to the next; never satisfied with his best moments nor shaken by his rare failures.

“He just knows the ins and outs of baseball, and has such good feel,” longtime teammate and backstop Austin Barnes said. “He’s like a train that comes at you consistently.”

That’s why, when Kershaw does inevitably cross the 3,000-strikeout threshold, it will be equal parts a testament to his talent and durability — an accomplishment that required him to continually reinvent his game without ever changing his fundamental nature as a pitcher.

“Clayton has everything the right way, on the field, off the field, over a long period of time,” manager Dave Roberts said last week.

“It’s hard to wrap your head around what it takes,” he added, “as far as longevity, and greatness.”

“He’s like a train that comes at you consistently,” former Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, center, said of pitcher Clayton Kershaw, left.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Few players have produced the kind of prolonged period of greatness Kershaw did during the peak of his career. Starting in that 2009 season, he went on a run of sub-3.00 ERA campaigns in 11 of his next 12 years. In seven of them, he had 200 or more strikeouts, including a career-high 301 punchouts in 2015. Eight of his 10 All-Star selections came in that stretch, as did his three Cy Young Awards and a 2014 National League MVP (still the last time a pitcher won the game’s highest individual honor).

His only blemishes in that time were repeated disappointments in the playoffs. But even in most of those, he was tasked with trying to save the team’s season while pitching on short rest or desperately-needed outings out of the bullpen.

“Even with all the pressure he’s had as the Dodgers’ ace … he’s always out there, he’s always willing to take the ball,” Barnes said. “I think that goes underappreciated. He’s willing to put himself out there, even when he doesn’t feel his best.”

To Barnes, who has caught more Kershaw starts than anyone other than A.J. Ellis, the way Kershaw strives to always be better is what has made it all possible. It was a trait he noticed in one of his first games catching him in 2017 against the San Diego Padres.

“I kind of went against the scouting report, and I called a fastball that froze the guy,” Barnes, who signed a minor-league deal with the San Francisco Giants this week after being released by the Dodgers earlier this year, recalled recently. “I remember him coming up to me after, kind of sizing me up and down, like, ‘Why’d you call that?’ I just said, ‘I just kind of felt it.’”

It was a small example of how Kershaw’s pitch mix — unchanged over the years, outside of an occasional flirtation with a variety of changeup grips — could be weaponized in ways opposing batters have long struggled to expect.

“Not everybody gets to his caliber of pitching and stuff,” Barnes said. “But the work he puts in, in the weight room, in the video room, for him to go out there and have clarity and conviction in what he needs to do, I think that’s what helps most. And the level of competitor he is. He can do it all.”

Even, in recent years, as his stuff has gradually diminished.

At the start of this season, Kershaw was just 32 strikeouts away from the 3K club — an exclusive fraternity that includes only three other left-handed pitchers, and two who spent their entire career with one team.

In past seasons, that would’ve been a total he could clear in less than a month.

But now, he joked early in his return from offseason foot and knee surgeries: “Maybe by September I’ll get there. We’ll see.”

After all, Kershaw barely touches 90 mph with his fastball even on a good day now. His slider and curveball don’t always have as much bite as they once did. Such has been the case for much of the last three seasons, as the miles on Kershaw’s arm and body have steadily caught up to him.

At the end of 2020, when Kershaw finally won his first World Series and began more seriously starting to contemplate when he might retire, he was less than 500 strikeouts away from 3,000. He seemed like a virtual lock to get there, perhaps as the last new entrant for the foreseeable future.

“He’s always a step ahead,” Dodgers pitching coach Mark Prior, left, said recently about pitcher Clayton Kershaw when discussing the key to his success.

(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

Since then, however, he had a season-ending elbow injury in 2021 that nearly required Tommy John surgery; back and shoulder problems that limited him in what were nonetheless All-Star seasons in 2022 and 2023; consecutive offseasons of surgical rehabs each of the past two winters, first on his shoulder and then his lower-body ailments; all on top of the normal aches and pains that come with pitching into someone’s late 30s.

His three-pitch arsenal remains unchanged, but figuring out ways to maximize it has been an ongoing challenge.

“He’s doing it the same way, but he’s having to figure out different ways to do it, if that makes sense,” Prior said.

Just like when he first broke into the majors, it has required him to trust what’s working best and adjust on the fly to his ever-weakening capabilities.

And yet, entering Wednesday’s potential milestone outing, Kershaw is 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA in his eight starts this season (the second-best ERA among Dodgers starters behind only Yoshinobu Yamamoto). He is coming off a particularly productive June, giving up just seven earned runs in 27 ⅔ innings. And, while they don’t come as frequently as they once did, the strikeouts are still present, with Kershaw averaging 7 ½ per nine innings over his last five starts.

To Prior, it’s a testament to Kershaw’s enduring ability to still pitch his way through a start.

“He knows when guys are looking hard and he can get them with the slider. The fastball and slider still do look the same, when he’s on, so he can pull the trigger on one or the other … And he has the equalizer with the curveball, to be able to use that to change speeds like he has his whole career.”

“Again, it’s the same pitch mix,” Prior added, “but he’s still finding ways to do it at this stage.”

To Roberts, it’s made Kershaw an example for the rest of the team to follow.

“It’s a lesson in life,” the manager said. “You don’t always have to feel perfect to be productive. I have a lot of respect for him.”

The great irony, once Kershaw does eclipse the 3,000-strikeout mark, is that punchouts have never been his primary objective.

“No, no,” Barnes said with a laugh. “He cares about winning the game and throwing up zeroes. That’s the biggest thing for him. The strikeouts are just a byproduct of him getting ahead of hitters, and being able to have [the pitches in] his mix playing off each other.”

But once that moment does arrive — fittingly, as things have lined up, likely on the Dodger Stadium mound he has dominated for almost two decades — the total will be indicative of all he has accomplished in a career of unmatched excellence, and the way he has elevated himself as one of the best pitchers in the history of the sport.

“He’s teaching me that so much of this game is still about mindset,” Prior said. “There’s so much object data, which is helpful in all aspects of our game. But part of it is still so unquantifiable. He’s just someone who has willed himself to be better than everybody else.”

ATLANTA — Jo Adell’s run-scoring double in the eighth inning ended a scoreless tie and the Angels beat the Atlanta Braves 4-0 on Tuesday night.

The Angels (42-42) reached .500 for the ninth time this season, while the Braves (38-46) have lost five of six.

Adell’s double down the left-field line off Dylan Lee (1-3) drove in Mike Trout, who doubled. Jorge Soler, who came off the injured list after missing 11 games with lower back inflammation, added a two-run double off Enyel De Los Santos in the four-run inning.

Angels shortstop Zach Neto returned as the leadoff hitter after missing four starts with a jammed right shoulder.

“Having the two guys back makes a huge difference,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said before the game.

The refurbished lineup struggled against Atlanta right-hander Grant Holmes, who gave up only three hits and recorded 10 strikeouts in six innings. Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson also threw six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts.

Rookie right-hander José Fermin (1-0) earned his first win with a scoreless seventh.

Key moment

Michael Harris II ended an 0-for-22 drought with a triple to open the fifth. The Braves couldn’t drive in Harris thanks in part to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s third of four strikeouts in the game.

Key stat

A first-inning single extended Matt Olson’s career-best, on-base streak to 31 games. The longest active streak in the majors of games safely reaching base began May 29.

Up next

Braves rookie right-hander Didier Fuentes, 0-2 with a 10.80 ERA after two starts, was moved back one day to start Wednesday. Outfielder Jurickson Profar is expected to make his return from an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use. Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (3-6, 2.79) is the Angels’ starter.

DENVER — Clayton Kershaw got to the precipice of history on Thursday afternoon. And now, when he inevitably crosses the 3,000 career strikeout milepost, it will almost certainly happen on his home mound.

In the Dodgers’ 3-1 win against the Colorado Rockies, Kershaw struck out five batters over a six-inning, one-run start to move to 2,997 punchouts for his career.

For a moment, it seemed as if Kershaw might be able to eclipse the threshold on Thursday. At the end of the sixth inning, he had thrown only 69 pitches while mowing through a free-swinging Rockies lineup.

Alas, manager Dave Roberts gave his 37-year-old left-hander an early hook, turning a narrow late-game lead over to his bullpen — and preserving the opportunity for Kershaw’s milestone moment to happen back at Dodger Stadium during next week’s homestand.

“I would argue there might be a temptation to take him out [today] and let him go for it in front of the home fans,” Roberts said pregame, when asked if he would consider extending Kershaw’s leash to let him chase his 3,000th strikeout on Thursday. “I’m not going to force anything.”

Ever since Kershaw returned from offseason foot and knee surgeries in May, and showed an ability to produce even with a diminished fastball and increasing mileage on his arm, his pursuit of 3,000 strikeouts has felt less like an “if” than a “when.”

Entering Thursday, his career total was up to 2,992, leaving him just eight shy of becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB history, and only the fourth left-hander, to join the prestigious 3K club.

“I guess ultimately the last box he needs to check for his future Hall of Fame career is that 3,000-strikeout threshold,” Roberts said. “We’re all waiting in anticipation.”

More impressively, though, Kershaw has been winning games and limiting runs for the Dodgers (51-31), improving to 4-0 with a 3.03 earned-run average through eight starts this season.

“I think there’s good days and bad days, good pitches and bad pitches,” Kershaw said. “Not as consistent, not as perfect as I would want. But the results have been OK. And at the end of the day, we’re winning games that I’ve been on the mound. So I’m thankful for that. Just a product of being on a great team.”

Kershaw wasn’t exactly expecting to reach the 3,000 mark Thursday, acknowledging that “eight in Colorado is never going to be easy to do.”

Over his first two innings, however, he quickly inched closer. Thairo Estrada whiffed on a curveball in the first inning. And though Brenton Doyle hit a solo homer in the second, Kershaw set Michael Toglia and Orlando Arcia both down swinging with a slider and curveball, respectively.

“I just love that edge that he gives each start day,” Roberts said. “We certainly feed off that.”

Kershaw didn’t get another strikeout until the end of the fifth, retiring the side with a slider that froze Braxton Fulford for a called third strike. An inning before that, he was bailed out by his defense after his lone walk, when Miguel Rojas turned a spinning double-play up the line at third base to erase the free pass.

“It could’ve been one run in, runner on second, nobody out,” Kershaw said. “So to turn that double-play there was kind of a game-changer. … Biggest play of the day.”

Still, in the sixth, all eyes returned to Kershaw’s strikeout total after Tyler Freeman was rung up on a generous outside strike call to finish off an eight-pitch at-bat.

Though it would have required striking out the side, Kershaw was as little as one inning away from No. 3,000.

Instead, Roberts decided to end his day, ensuring that the next time Kershaw takes the mound — likely to be next Wednesday at home against the Chicago White Sox — he will need only three more strikeouts to do something only two pitchers before have ever done: Have a 3,000-strikeout career while playing for only one team.

“It would be very special,” Kershaw said of potentially reaching the milestone at Dodger Stadium. “It would be.”

Ohtani to pitch Saturday

While Kershaw mowed through the Rockies (18-63), Shohei Ohtani delivered the biggest swing of the day for the Dodgers, padding what was only a 2-1 lead in the seventh with a solo home run to right, his NL-leading 28th of the year.

The blast came hours after the other big news of the day, with Roberts confirming pregame that the two-way star will make his next start as a pitcher on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals.

That game will mark Ohtani’s third pitching outing of the season and could be his first in which he goes beyond the first inning. Last week, Roberts hinted at the possibility of Ohtani — who is still building up in his return from Tommy John surgery — pitching into the second inning, but he has continued to leave any final decisions open-ended.

Upstaging Shohei Ohtani, especially on a day he pitches, is no easy feat.

But at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, teammate Max Muncy did it twice — hitting two home runs and matching a career high with seven RBIs to lift the Dodgers to a 13-7 defeat of the Washington Nationals, and make Ohtani more of the sideshow in his second pitching start of the season.

Despite two strikeouts over a scoreless first inning from Ohtani to begin the day, Dodger Stadium had sat in relative silence for the next five innings.

Ben Casparius, who replaced the still workload-restricted Ohtani on the mound in the second, gave up a three-run home run in the third, when a flyball deflected off Hyeseong Kim’s glove at the wall before hitting a fan reaching over the barrier.

Michael Soroka, the former All-Star turned inconsistent journeyman, held the Dodgers hitless into the fifth, racking up a career-high 10 strikeouts while protecting the 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, however, an opportunity for the Dodgers finally arose.

Dalton Rushing led off with a slicing ground-rule double down the left-field line. Ohtani drew a walk with the help of two favorable ball-strike calls. Badly slumping Freddie Freeman was bailed out of an 0-and-2 count on a wild slurve from Soroka that hit his foot.

And suddenly, the Nationals had to go to the bullpen, summoning left-hander Jose A. Ferrer to face Muncy with the bases loaded.

After just three pitches to Muncy, Ferrer called out the grounds crew to rake the mound and smooth out his landing area on the downslope.

But at the plate, it gave Muncy time to think about his at-bat against Ferrer the night before, mentally lock in on what to expect, and catch his breath in the biggest moment of the game.

“When he’s ready, he’s ready,” Muncy said he told himself. “And let’s get a swing off.”

Muncy did on each of the next two pitches, fouling off one center-cut sinker before lining the next deep to left for a script-flipping, deficit-erasing, go-ahead grand slam.

“I saw the guy last night, so had a good idea of what he was throwing in there and how to approach it,” Muncy said. “I was trying to keep the ball off the ground, get something in the air, get at least one run in. Just trying to do a job. And I got a good swing off and got the ball in a good spot.”

Ohtani started the day as the main attraction.

Dodgers pitcher Shohei Ohtani delivers in the first inning against the Nationals on Sunday.

(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

The two-way star drew a crowd as he came onto the field for pregame warm-ups and got loose in the left-field bullpen — prompting fans even up in the upper reserve-level deck to lean over railings and get a look at his dual-role talents.

And once the game began, Ohtani climbed atop the mound and showed progress from his season debut as a pitcher six days before.

“I thought he was considerably better today,” manager Dave Roberts said. “The stuff, the life of the fastball, the command of his pitches — much better.”

Ohtani’s scoreless inning included strikeouts of Luis Garcia Jr. on a sweeper and Nathaniel Lowe on a cutter, representing his first strikeouts since returning from Tommy John surgery. He worked around a dropped infield pop-up from Mookie Betts in an otherwise efficient 18-pitch, 12-strike outing. He hit 99 mph with his fastball while mixing in a healthy dose of sweepers, cutters and splitters to complement it.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani hits a home run in the eighth inning Sunday against the Nationals.

(Luke Johnson / Los Angeles Times)

“Overall, I was able to relax much better compared to my last outing,” said Ohtani, who noted that the plan for Sunday’s start was to once again be limited to only one inning.

“I think that it’s just more of just trying to get the foundation, the building blocks as he’s taking at-bats,” Roberts added. “Getting an inning here, an inning there, and then just gradually progress.”

Ohtani also quieted recent questions about whether his return to pitching was affecting his bat.

After entering the day two-for-19 in five games since resuming two-way duties, Ohtani helped the Dodgers (48-31) pull away late. In the seventh, he laced a bases-loaded, three-run triple past the first base bag, turning a narrow one-run lead into a comfortable four-score cushion over the Nationals (32-46). In the eighth, he added more insurance, belting a two-run homer to left-center field for his National League-leading 26th long ball.

“When he’s going to the big part of the field, I think he’s really, really good,” Roberts said. “So today was good. And hopefully it quiets the noise a little bit with the days that he pitches.”

Not to be outdone, however, Muncy raised the ante himself in the latter innings, following Ohtani’s seventh-inning triple with a three-run home run to right three batters later.

“You look at the last 30 days, I think he’s been our best hitter,” Roberts said. “We never wavered in our confidence, and we’ve shown that, and he’s proven us all right.”

Indeed, Sunday continued a stunning mid-season turnaround for Muncy — giving him a .305 average with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs over his last 39 games; compared to a .177 average, one home run and seven RBIs in his first 35 contests.

It moved him into third place among National League third basemen this season with an .815 OPS — making a player who once seemed bound for trade rumors this summer unexpectedly on the fringes of the All-Star conversation.

And, it somehow managed to top the all-around production Ohtani displayed in his two-way encore, lifting the Dodgers to a weekend series win and 7-3 record overall on this 10-game homestand.

“It’s definitely a snowball effect,” Muncy said. “Confidence is high right now.”

It’s hard not to count as the strikeouts go by.

Clayton Kershaw’s first strikeout Friday night came on his “Cooperstown curveball” — a pitch that’s dazzled since its first appearance at Dodger Stadium on May 25, 2008. Two strikeouts on sliders that dove into the dirt like paper airplanes curtailing in the wind brought his chase to single digits.

The milestone is inevitable. Kershaw will all but certainly reach the 3,000-strikeout mark, etching his name on a list that features just 19 other pitchers. But he’ll have to wait a little while longer.

“There’s a few pitches tonight where it clicked,” Kershaw said, moving his earned-run average to 2.49 in June. “It’s just not every one. So hopefully it’ll get there.”

Kershaw struck out four batters against the Nationals, tossing five innings and giving up two solo home runs as the Dodgers took the series opener 6-5.

“It’s really special knowing that he’s approaching 3,000,” said infielder Miguel Rojas, who played third base Friday like he did for Kershaw’s no-hitter in 2014. “Every pitch… every strikeout counts. But for him, I feel like it’s more important to win games, and for him to be 3-0 and with really good numbers overall, I’m happy for him — that he’s healthy, happy and able to contribute.”

Kershaw brought his career strikeout total to 2,992, just eight away from 3,000. Strikeout 3,000 could come Thursday in Colorado or Friday in Kansas City when he’s next expected to toe the mound.

“It’s hard not to appreciate how close he is to the 3,000 mark,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “My guess is that he just wants to get this thing over with as soon as possible, right? … He wants it over as quick as possible, I’m sure.”

Kershaw still doesn’t feel his sharpest in his seventh start of the season. He walked two and 33 of his 78 pitches were balls. His fastball was more than a tick down from his season average as he flailed with his command early.

And yet, Kershaw battled through five innings.

“I can still get people out,” Kershaw said. “I just want to do it a little bit better.”

Clayton Kershaw delivers in the third inning against the Washington Nationals on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

If the Dodgers’ previous four-game series against the Padres had the energy and animosity of postseason baseball, then the Nationals coming to town felt like a true mid-June game. Coming off an 11-game losing streak — broken Thursday in Colorado — the Nationals (31-45) fell out of an early lead because of self-inflicted gaffes.

After the Dodgers knotted the score 1-1 when bench coach Danny Lehmann’s first successful challenge (stepping in at manager for the suspended Roberts) brought home a run after Mookie Betts was deemed safe at first on a fielder’s choice, Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams made what looked to be an inning-ending force play.

Abrams dove to his right on an infield single from Andy Pages, stabbed the ball and used his glove to flip to Amed Rosario at second base. The ball never reached Rosario, and Betts hustled home from second base without a throw.

Rojas extended the Dodgers’ lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth when he hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot, to score Kiké Hernández (two for three, two doubles). When the Nationals threatened in the top of the seventh — with runners on second and third, down by two — Michael Conforto came to the Dodgers’ rescue by making a diving catch to keep his team ahead.

“It’s a long season, and you’re going to receive more opportunities to contribute, and it’s nice to finally get one game like this where you feel part of it,” Rojas said, adding that he was glad to showcase his hitting against a left-hander such as Washington ace MacKenzie Gore.

Abrams homered in the ninth, but Dodgers closer Tanner Scott buckled down to secure his 15th save.

The Dodgers (47-30) will turn to right-hander Dustin May against the Nationals on Saturday as they attempt to clinch their fourth consecutive series. Neither Roberts nor Lehmann was made available to reporters after the game.

Miguel Rojas, left, is gets a hand slap from Dodgers first base coach Chris Woodward after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Nationals on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Etc.

Right-hander Tyler Glasnow (shoulder inflammation) is set to throw two innings in a rehabilitation assignment with triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, while left-hander Blake Snell (shoulder inflammation) is set to throw a bullpen in the next few days, Roberts said.

Roki Sasaki (right shoulder impingement), who stopped throwing after a recent flare up stymied his progression, threw in the outfield Friday afternoon.

“I don’t know if it was 60, 90 feet, with the baseball,” Roberts said of Sasaki, who was moved to the 60-day injured list Friday. “That was a bonus. That was a plus. Chatted with him briefly afterward. He was excited about it.”

On how Sasaki was feeling, Roberts said: “I would say pain-free. Now it’s just getting the build-up. But most important, he’s pain-free.”