Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw announces he'll retire after this season

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw — a three-time National League Cy Young winner and a World Series champion — announced Thursday he will retire at the end of the season

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw — a three-time National League Cy Young winner and a World Series champion — announced Thursday he will retire at the end of the season.

Kershaw will make his final regular-season start Friday when the Dodgers host their division rival, the San Francisco Giants.

“On behalf of the Dodgers, I congratulate Clayton on a fabulous career and thank him for the many moments he gave to Dodger fans and baseball fans everywhere, as well as for all of his profound charitable endeavors,” Dodgers owner Mark Walter said in a statement. “His is a truly legendary career, one that we know will lead to his induction in the Baseball Hall of Fame.”

The Dodgers selected Kershaw, 37, seventh overall in the 2006 MLB draft, and he made his debut in the majors in 2008.

In 2011, Kershaw won his first Cy Young award, posting a 21-5 record with 248 strikeouts and a 2.28 ERA. He won the award two more times, in 2013 and 2014. From 2011 to 2014, Kershaw led the NL in ERA every season.