Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers set a new franchise record by combining for 26 strikeouts in a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in 12 innings on Friday night. The previous mark was held by the 1972 Dodgers team that recorded 22 strikeouts in 18 innings against the Cincinnati Reds.
What’s more, the Dodgers set a National League record and tied the MLB record with their 26 strikeouts. Clayton Kershaw led the charge with a season-high 14 strikeouts over seven innings.
The left-handed ace was in dominant form, at one point retiring 20 batters in a row. The streak was snapped by a Domingo Santana two-out home run in the bottom of the seventh. En route to setting a new season high, Kershaw became the third-fastest (based on innings) and fifth-youngest pitcher to reach 2,000 career strikeouts.
He gave way to Pedro Baez, who allowed two hits, issued one walk, and fanned five batters over two scoreless innings. The hit — a double — and walk both came in the eighth inning, when the right-hander otherwise struck out the side.
Grant Dayton, making his second appearance in as many games since coming off the disabled list, struck out the side in the 10th inning. Kenley Jansen finished the game with two scoreless innings to earn his third win of the season.
Jansen punched-out four batters, and broke Adam Wainwright’s MLB record set in 2013 for most strikeouts (35) without issuing a walk to start a season. Jansen broke the record in the 11th inning, and extended it to 39 strikeouts in the 12th.
The Brewers were not far behind, with five of their pitchers combining for 16 strikeouts. Starter Jimmy Nelson led the team with 11 punchouts over eight shutout innings. Nelson became the first Brewers pitcher in franchise history to have consecutive starts with at least 10 strikeouts and zero walks.
