Thirty-five-year-old Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw made the 403rd start of his 16-year Major League career on Sunday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs at historic Wrigley Field. And as he has done exactly 200 times before, he won.

If you are any good at math (which I most certainly am not), this equates to winning 49.8759305% of his starts.

But wait… There’s more!

His (now) 201-88 career record equates to an insane .695 winning percentage – the best in all of baseball. And with the one earned run that he allowed on Sunday on a solo home run by Cubs catcher Yan Gomes in the bottom of the fifth inning, Kershaw’s career ERA sits at 2.48 – the best in all of baseball. (Did I mention that Clayton Kershaw is a future Hall of Famer?).

But if you know anything about the Dallas, TX native and Dodgers first round draft pick in 2006 out of Highland Park High School in University Park, TX (and how could you not), you know that despite his sheer greatness, the three-time Cy Young Award winner always finds room for improvement in even his best outings, although he is usually the only one who does. He also always acknowledges his teammates in his outings. Always.

“It wasn’t pretty today, a lot of lineouts, a lot of balls at the track caught,” Kershaw told SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson postgame. “But the guys played a great game, got some big knocks, started scoring some runs off a good pitcher, and we got a win out of it, so it was great.”

“I don’t think Clayton had his best stuff today and he still found a way to grind and win a ballgame for us,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said postgame of his staff ace.

“I think he’s built that equity in the league where people still see number 22 and give him that respect, so when he doesn’t have his best stuff, he still makes pitches. He had some punch outs, and obviously he doesn’t walk guys, and sort of bailed us out a little bit today,” added Roberts.

Again.

As for that “…got some big knocks” thing, Dodgers right-fielder-turned-shortstop Mookie Betts slugged his third home run of the season, a two-run shot in the top of the third inning, and drove in four of the Dodgers seven runs on Sunday. Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy hit his MLB-leading 11th home run of the season, a two-run shot in the top of the sixth, and Dodgers designated hitter J.D. Martinez recorded his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot, also in the sixth inning.

Play Ball!

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