Clayton Kershaw Apologized to Dodgers Teammate After 3,000th Strikeout Game

Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy wanted to hug Clayton Kershaw after the July 2 game in which the future Hall of Fame pitcher struck out the 3,000th batter of his career.

Muncy had a good excuse for not joining his teammates in their celebration of Kershaw: he could barely stand on his own power.

The knee injury that left Muncy on the 10-day injured list occurred in the sixth inning, one batter before Kershaw struck out Vinny Capra — his 3,000th victim — to end his outing.

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Instead of Muncy hugging Kershaw, Kershaw hugged his fallen teammate after the game.

“Kersh came running up and gave me a big hug," Muncy said Tuesday during an appearance on Foul Territory. "I was telling him ‘Congrats’ and he was sitting there saying ‘Dude, I’m sorry.’ I’m like, what are you sorry for, it’s not your fault. He goes, ‘No, I let the guy get on second, I’m sorry.’"

"I’m like, no it’s not your fault, man," Muncy continued. "He came up and gave me a big hug … especially for Kersh in that moment to come up and give me a hug, in that moment, that was awesome. I wanted to give him a hug on the field to congratulate him but obviously I wasn’t out there.”

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Muncy went on to say he's optimistic about the injury, which was diagnosed as a bone bruise. He previously said he is expected to miss about six weeks with the injury.

"it was just kind of a crappy situation that somehow, miraculously, nothing bad happened out of that except just a bruise,” Muncy said Tuesday.

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The Dodgers can't welcome back Muncy soon enough. They are 0-6 since beating the White Sox, having been swept in consecutive series by the Houston Astros and Milwaukee Brewers. Only three games remain before the All-Star break, beginning Friday in San Francisco against the rival Giants.

Muncy is slashing .250/.375/.457 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs in 81 games this season.

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Muncy made it clear he intends to return as soon as possible.

“There was some damage in there but all the ligaments were intact, that was the biggest thing," he said. "So for me, that night laying in bed, you replay everything in your head. … I can’t miss the rest of this year. I just can’t do that.”

Not that he needed to, but Muncy also made it clear that his injury is not Kershaw's fault.

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