Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw closing in on 2,000 strikeouts

In his last 88 starts, a stretch that dates back to May 2014, Clayton Kershaw has struck out at least four batters in every single appearance. Thus in all likelihood, when he faces the Brewers on Friday at Miller Park, he will become the third-fastest pitcher in baseball history to record 2,000 strikeouts.

Kershaw enters the evening with 1,996 strikeouts in 1,836 innings. Only Pedro Martinez (1,715 1/3 innings) and Randy Johnson (1,734) reached the milestone in quicker fashion, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Nolan Ryan (1,874) will fall to fourth place.

In this elite company, Kershaw fits in. He is playing in his 10th season in the majors, his age-29 season. Martinez cracked 2,000 in his 11th year in the majors, his age-30 season. It took Johnson 10 years to reach 2,000, but he was in his age-33 season. Ryan was also in his age-29 season, 10 years after his debut.

Here is how the four men compared, through the years they reached 2,000 strikeouts:

Kershaw: 133-62, 2.37 earned-run average, 170 ERA+, 4.10 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 54.7 bWAR.

Martinez: 152-63, 2.62 ERA, 172 ERA+, 4.38 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 63.6 bWAR.

Johnson: 124-68, 3.37 ERA, 128 ERA+, 2.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 37.7 bWAR.

Ryan: 122-116, 3.11 ERA, 109 ERA+, 1.77 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 29.0 bWAR.

Kershaw, though, will not remain in third place on this list for long. Washington starter Max Scherzer, now pitching in his age-32 season, has struck out 1,981 batters in 1773 2/3 innings.

Here are the Dodgers pitching matchups for the weekend at Miller Park:

Friday: LHP Clayton Kershaw (7-2, 2.37 ERA) vs. RHP Jimmy Nelson (3-3, 3.83 ERA).

Saturday: LHP Rich Hill (2-2, 4.09 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Garza (2-2, 3.98 ERA).

Sunday: RHP Kenta Maeda (4-2, 5.21 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Davies (5-3, 5.18 ERA).

andy.mccullough@latimes.com

Twitter: @McCulloughTimes