LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw tied Sandy Koufax's franchise record of six straight 200-strikeout seasons while tossing eight scoreless innings, and the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Washington Nationals 3-0 Wednesday night.
Kershaw (10-6) took a perfect game bid into the sixth inning, when Michael Taylor doubled to deep center field. Kershaw retired the next two batters on grounders to end the inning.
The 27-year-old left-hander struck out the side in the second to equal the mark set by Koufax from 1961-66. Koufax and Tom Seaver (1968-76) are the only pitchers in modern NL history to accomplish the feat in six or more consecutive seasons.