the k is for kershaw kountdown continues

clayton kershaw was on the mound for the dodgers yesterday in saint louis, and so the k is for kershaw kountdown is back.

kershaw pitched six shutout innings and struck out 2 batters to give him 19 strikeouts for the 2024 season. those 2 cardinals that he k'd increased his career total to 2,963.

in honor of his performance, here are 2 not seen on this blog before cards from my collection to represent strikeouts 2,962 through 2,963.

2,962 - 2018 topps high tek pattern 1

2,963 - 2018 topps high tek pattern 2

for the record, i was not among the collectors (were there any?) that were clamoring for the return of the tek releases with all of the parallels.

this was kershaw's longest outing of the season so far. it was his fifth start and, while his strikeout total was down, he needed only 70 pitches to complete six innings. he started the game with a strikeout of masyn winn and later k'd willson contreras in the fourth inning. 

kershaw remains in 21st place on the all-time leader board, and he will remain there until he passes zack greinke. greinke, who hasn't formally retired but hasn't joined a team so far in 2024, has a career strikeout total of 2,979. kershaw is now 16 k's behind greinke and 37 away from the 3,000 milestone. 

kershaw should be back on the mound this weekend against the rays. know that when kershaw makes his next start, i will be back to update the kountdown soon thereafter. stay tuned!