LOS ANGELES — His start prolonged, the whiffs remained elusive, and the Dodger Stadium crowd became increasingly concerned that Clayton Kershaw might not reach a hallowed milestone in front of them. Finally, with two outs in Wednesday’s sixth inning, at the end of his outing, it happened — an outside-corner slider to freeze Vinny Capra and become the 20th member of the 3,000-strikeout club.

Kershaw came off the field and waved his cap to a sold-out crowd that had risen in appreciation. His teammates then greeted him on the field, dispersing hugs before a tribute played on the Dodger Stadium scoreboard, after which Kershaw spilled out of the dugout to greet the fans once more.

Kershaw, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ longtime ace, is just the fourth lefty to reach 3,000 strikeouts, joining Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton and CC Sabathia. He is one of just five to accumulate that many with one team, along with Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and John Smoltz. The only other active pitchers who reached 3,000 strikeouts are the two who have often been lumped with Kershaw among the greatest pitchers of this era — Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the latter of whom reached the milestone as a member of the Dodgers in September 2021.

Kershaw’s first strikeout accounted for the first out of the third inning — immediately after Austin Slater’s two-run homer gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead. Former Dodger Miguel Vargas fell behind in the count, 0-2, becoming the ninth batter to get to two strikes against Kershaw, then swung through a curveball low and away. The next strikeout, No. 2,999 of his career, came on his 92nd pitch of the night — a curveball that landed well in front of home plate and induced a swing and miss of Lenyn Sosa to end the fifth inning and tie his season high.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not even look at Kershaw as he made his way back into the dugout, a clear sign that he would not be taken out. The crowd erupted as Kershaw took the mound for the start of the sixth inning. Mike Tauchman grounded out, Michael A. Taylor hit a double, then was caught stealing on a play that prompted Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy to come down hard on his left knee, forcing him to be helped off the field.

The mood suddenly turned somber at Dodger Stadium. Then, four pitches later, came elation.

Kershaw reached 3,000 strikeouts in 2,787 1/3 innings, making him the fourth-fastest to reach the mark, according to research from the Elias Sports Bureau. The only ones who got there with fewer innings were Randy Johnson (2,470 2/3), Scherzer (2,516) and Pedro Martinez (2,647 2/3).