For what was apparently the second time in his career, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw on Friday inadvertently timed the wind-up of his pitch with a group of fans doing the wave in the stands ... though it would probably be more apt to say the crowd timed their move to Kershaw's—not the other way around.

During the Dodgers' 6-5 win over the Washington Nationals, cameras caught a rapt group of spectators beginning "the wave" as Kershaw extended his arms in the air on the mound, preparing for his pitch. As a result of their smart timing, it looked as though Kershaw himself was participating in the crowd work ... and not just, y'know, doing his job.

Watch that funny moment below:

Better yet, this isn't the first time Kershaw was in sync with some eager fans. According to MLB, it happened in 2022, as well, when the Dodgers were playing the San Diego Padres.

But as fun as Friday's antics were, they definitely should not dwarf a much more impressive milestone upon which the left-hander is rapidly approaching: he is now just eight strikeouts away from becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,000 career K's. Going into Friday night's game, he was 12 away, but subtracted four from that total during the win.

The Dodgers win was the opener of a three-game series vs. the Nats. Washington will have the chance to even things up come Saturday night at 10:10 p.m. ET.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw Unwittingly Participates in Funny Crowd Moment While on Mound.

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