Why Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw's historic streak ending wasn't shocking

Going into Wednesday, Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw had recorded at least one strikeout in every regular-season start of his career, a streak longer than any player in MLB history.

That historic stretch ended in a clunker against the San Diego Padres during Wednesday night's 8-1 loss.

The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner's only other regular-season outing without a punchout was a one-inning relief appearance against the San Francisco Giants in the final game of his rookie season on Sept. 28, 2008.

Kershaw's zero strikeouts are a surprise on the surface, but if there were any situation where his streak would finally end, Wednesday seemed like a prime candidate.

According to a report by ESPN's Alden Gonzalez , the Padres have the highest contact rate in MLB. San Diego has also won nine of their 11 contests since the All-Star break.

Wednesday was only the second start of 2024 for the 36-year-old Kershaw after offseason shoulder surgery.

He had a strong debut on July 25 against the Giants, allowing two runs on six hits, two walks and six strikeouts across four innings.

"Physically, I feel fine," Kershaw said. "Honestly, I felt pretty good with the last one overall. But this one, obviously, was really bad."

Even if the setup vs. the Padres wasn't ideal, Kershaw's career-spanning streak is still jaw-dropping.

The lefty might not be what he once was, but he's still a three-time NL strikeout champion. Kershaw also ranks third among active players in strikeouts (2,950), only behind Max Scherzer (3,405) and Justin Verlander (3,393).