Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw rocked by Padres in first career 0-K start - ESPN

SAN DIEGO — Clayton Kershaw had made 423 regular-season starts and recorded at least one strikeout in every one of them, a stretch that began with his introduction to the major leagues, extended through his run as the sport's most dominant pitcher and persisted amid continual injury.

On Wednesday night, during his second start back from his first arm surgery, Kershaw's run finally ended.

In a matchup against the San Diego Padres, the team with the highest contact rate in the major leagues, Kershaw recorded 11 outs, allowed seven runs and struck out zero batters, handing his shorthanded Los Angeles Dodgers an 8-1 loss from Petco Park.

«There's a lot of things I was missing,» Kershaw said. «Just wasn't executing, wasn't throwing really anything where I wanted to, how I wanted to. Frustrating, overall.»

Dating back to 1893, the year the pitcher's mound was moved to its current location, no man had ever made more regular-season starts with at least one strikeout than Kershaw, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information. The two just below him — Tom Seaver at 411, Nolan Ryan at 382 — are legends. Kershaw's only other regular-season game without a strikeout was Sept. 28, 2008, against the Giants, but that was in a relief appearance.

That Kershaw's streak lasted so long is a testament to his excellence. That it ended, perhaps, is indicative of his current state, coming off shoulder surgery and pitching in his age-36 season.

The Padres, winners of nine of 11 since the All-Star break, scored four runs in the second inning and three more in the fourth. Only three of the runs charged to Kershaw were earned. But some of that stemmed from a rare misplay by Kershaw himself, when he mishandled a one-out bunt that could have