Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer will forever be tied together. Along with Justin Verlander, there’s an easy and obvious elite tier for the generation of pitchers whose prime ran through the 2010s. Scherzer and Kershaw both debuted in 2008. They are tied together in a fun little trivia question, too, which is that a pair of Hall of Famers were scratched from a scheduled head-to-head start to make way for a pair of rookies.
It was Sept. 7, 2008, when Randy Johnson of the Diamondbacks was supposed to square off against Greg Maddux of the Dodgers, but instead the two teams changed course before the game and went with Scherzer vs. Kershaw instead. That was the first time they squared off.
Friday night, the two future Hall of Famers might have gone head-to-head for the last time when Scherzer’s Blue Jays visited Kershaw’s Dodgers (TOR vs. LAD GameTracker).
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While it wasn’t really “one of the ages” or anything that needed extra superlatives attached, it was a pleasure. Both guys are clearly past their prime, but also have a little bit left in the tank. They don’t really overpower hitters anymore, but they were both students the craft for so long that they have enough know-how when it comes to pitching to carve up good offenses for innings at a time.
We saw Kershaw get a 1-2-3 first inning against one of the best offenses in baseball. Scherzer allowed two singles to start the bottom of the first, but was able to escape unscathed, getting big strikeouts of Freddie Freeman and Teoscar Hernández. The Blue Jays would rally for a run in the second and a line-drive double play helped Kershaw wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam. Neither would really get in much trouble then until the fifth, when, with two outs, Scherzer gave up a double to Shohei Ohtani and home run to Mookie Betts.
The final lines were as follows.
Kershaw: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Scherzer: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
To reiterate, we can’t exactly call either outing dominant, but those are quality starts. Consider the competition, too. Entering this game, the Dodgers led the majors in runs scored while the Blue Jays were fifth. The Dodgers were second in OPS and the Blue Jays were third.
This is why it was a pleasure.
Kershaw is 37 years old with over 2,800 regular-season innings and almost 200 playoff innings of mileage on that left arm. He looked like a frontline starter against a top-shelf offense. Scherzer is 41 years old with over 2,900 regular-season innings and 143 playoff innings of wear on that sturdy right arm and he looked pretty darn good against arguably the best offense in baseball.
The most fun part was, of course, that a full six innings of baseball happened with the two on the mound.
This was the fourth regular-season game between these two. The first three:
- The aforementioned Sept. 7, 2008 bout. Kershaw gave up three runs on six hits in four innings. He was a rookie and not Cheat Code Kershaw we’d soon see. Scherzer offered up a closer glimpse to his prime self, striking out 11, though he gave up three runs on five hits in five innings. Neither figured in the decision in a 5-3 Dodgers win.
- They wouldn’t go head-to-head again until April 20, 2018. By that time, the duo had combined for six Cy Youngs. Scherzer would only give up one run on four hits in six innings, grabbing the win, while Kershaw allowed four runs on nine hits in seven innings in a 5-2 Nationals win.
- Then came April 11, 2021. Scherzer was still with the Nationals, though both players — little did anyone know at the time — would finish the season with the Dodgers. This time, Kershaw grabbed the win with six scoreless innings, striking out six. Scherzer only allowed one run on three hits, but the Dodgers prevailed 3-0.
Scherzer and Kershaw also appeared as opponents in the same playoff game three times, but only once did both start. That came in Game 1 of the 2016 NLDS. Kershaw gave up three runs on eight hits in five innings, but grabbed the win, as the Dodgers were able to get Scherzer for four runs on five hits, including two home runs.
Interestingly, this could well have been a World Series preview. The Dodgers are the reigning champions and sit in first place in the NL West while the Blue Jays are in first in the AL East. Wouldn’t it be something if we saw a Kershaw-Scherzer head-to-head in the World Series for the first time this year?
Those dreams will have to wait. We can focus on the Friday night bout. And it was very aesthetically pleasing before we even dive into the history behind it.
In terms of the stats, this matchup Friday night was a rare one. Both pitchers have surpassed 3,000 strikeouts in their careers. Only 20 pitchers in history have ever gotten to 3,000 strikeouts and only three are active — the other being Verlander, naturally. This was just the fourth time in MLB history a pair of 3,000-K pitchers squared off. Scherzer did so with Verlander on Sept. 6, 2023. The others were Curt Schilling vs. Roger Clemens on Sept. 16, 2007 and Maddux vs. Clemens on July 19, 2006.
Only 11 pitchers in history have ever won at least three Cy Youngs and these two pitchers are on that list.
In terms of stature, we’re talking about two inner-circle Hall of Famers facing off again. They carry the type of name recognition where you don’t even need the stats. You just hear “Kershaw” or “Scherzer” and it all clicks into place, even for casual sports fans. They are legends.
And Friday night, we got to see them face off, maybe for the last time.
