Reading List: Kershaw's 1st no-no

Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw struck out a career-high 15 batters en route to the first no hitter of his young tenure in baseball Wednesday night.

Kershaw downed the Colorado Rockies, 8-0, for the franchise's 22nd no-hitter, and the second of the 2014 season.

It's almost hard to believe that after two Cy Young Awards, the 26-year-old is just now recording no-no No. 1. But just as Kershaw would, his night wasn't without his own set of notables (via MLB.com).

• His 15 strikeouts are the most in a no-hitter without allowing any walks, and ties with Warren Spahn's on Sept. 16, 1960.
• Kershaw made the Dodgers the 17th team in MLB history to throw two no-hitters in a season, last accomplished by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010 (Roy Halladay did it twice).
• He's only the third reigning Cy Young Award winner to throw a no-no, alongside Sandy Koufax in 1964, and Bob Gibson in 1971.

• According to Bill James' Game Score, Kershaw's 102 is the best ranking a no-hitter has produced and the second-best pitching performance of any kind, behind Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout, one-hit, no-walk game in 1998, which earned a Game Score of 105.

Here are the must-reads on Kershaw's stunning night.

Tim Brown at Yahoo! Sports notes the frequent comparisons of Kershaw to Dodgers great, Sandy Koufax, who tossed four no-hitters for the team.

In a career that has appeared to put him in lockstep with Sandy Koufax, Kershaw has resisted the comparisons. The two are, however, infinitely fond of one another. And the no-hitter, a single misguided throw from a perfect game, will serve only to further the sense among older Dodger fans they'd seen something like this before.

At ESPNLosAngeles, Mark Saxon describes the tension in the final moments of the game.

It wasn't until Kershaw had done it, pitched his first no-hitter, that he smiled as he chucked his glove and thrust his hands in the sky. That seemed to be the cue, the tension-cutter, inviting his teammates to come and swarm him in hugs near the mound. There has always been that code with Kershaw. Everyone who works with him has learned to deal with it every fifth day. It has become part of the job working around this team. And if you watched that almost-effortless dominance, you know it's probably not his last no-hitter.

Michael Lananna of MLB.com tells the tale from behind the plate, where catcher A.J. Ellis had to hold it all together.

It was time. Ellis composed himself just long enough to put down the last four signs he'd need to put down, to catch the last four pitches he'd need to catch before he'd be able to toss his mask to the side, then walk, then sprint, then embrace Clayton Kershaw as their teammates swarmed around them.

 "It's really special. It's my best friend in all of baseball, and all of the work he did -- it was just really great for me; I was just hoping I'd put down the right fingers for the Dickerson at-bat."

Around the league, colleagues and opponents chimed in via Twitter: