Hall of Fame pitchers seize spotlight as Blue Jays take on Dodgers
An interleague matchup between division leaders kicks off Friday night with a showdown between two of MLB's most iconic pitchers.
Max Scherzer of the Toronto Blue Jays and Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers are scheduled to go head-to-head in the opener of the three-game series in Los Angeles.
Scherzer has won 218 regular-season games during his career and seven more in the postseason. Kershaw owns 217 regular season wins and 13 more in the playoffs.
The future Hall of Famers also are the most recent additions to MLB's 3,000-strikeout club.
'You probably aren't going to see that very often these days,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. 'I have a lot of respect for Max. It'll be good to see him and, hopefully, we can have our way with him.'
Scherzer (2-1, 4.39 ERA), who missed three months with a right thumb injury, is coming off his best start of the season. He allowed one run and five hits over six innings in a 4-2 win against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.
The 41-year-old is 5-5 with a 2.34 ERA in 18 appearances against the Dodgers in his career, including 16 starts.
Scherzer and Kershaw have faced off several times in their career, beginning with their first matchup on Sept. 7, 2008, when Scherzer was a rookie with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Kershaw was in his first season with the Dodgers. Neither earned the victory in Los Angeles' 5-3 win that day, though Scherzer fanned 11 over five innings.
'I loved playing with him. I love competing against him. I have all the respect in the world for him,' Scherzer said. 'We've been pitching for so long, you don't know how many more chances you are going to get at this, to face somebody of his ilk. This is what you dream of, facing the best. It should be a lot of fun.'
Kershaw (5-2, 3.29 ERA) is also coming off an impressive start, blanking the Tampa Bay Rays for six innings in a 5-0 win last Friday.
'First-ballot Hall of Famer,' said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman after that game. 'He was in the pool all day yesterday with his kids, and he goes out there and throws six shutout innings. He is absolutely incredible.'
Kershaw, 37, said he had better command of his pitches than he did in his previous start on July 26 against the Boston Red Sox, when he gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings of a 4-2 loss.
'The slider was definitely better,' Kershaw said. 'The last one in Boston, it wasn't very good. I was able to throw the slider a little bit more, the curveball for strikes which is nice. Will (Smith) did a good job, identified that they were taking that early. So to be able to get ahead with that was nice.'
Kershaw has made two starts against the Blue Jays in his career and won them both, posting a 3.46 ERA in those wins.
Scherzer said the matchup deserves a lot of attention, but there's a lot more he needs to be concerned about.
'They won the World Series last year,' Scherzer said of the Dodgers. 'They're the champs. You want a shot at the champs. You want to beat them. That's what this game is about.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Canada News.Net
4 hours ago
- Canada News.Net
Dodgers thriving against fellow division leader Blue Jays
(Photo credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images) The Los Angeles Dodgers had not enjoyed much success against the other division leaders this season, losing 11 of the previous 12 matchups heading into this weekend's three-game series against the visiting Toronto Blue Jays. But the Dodgers have found an answer against the American League East leaders, dominating the first two games of the series to put themselves on the verge of a sweep on Sunday afternoon. Los Angeles won the opener 5-1 on Friday, and the National League West leaders played even better on Saturday, running away with a 9-1 victory. 'We've put together two complete ballgames,' Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. 'Really, really pleased.' Clayton Kershaw held the Blue Jays to one run over six innings on Friday, and Blake Snell followed with five shutout innings on Saturday. On Sunday, it will be Tyler Glasnow's turn after the Dodgers announced on Saturday that they were moving the right-hander up a day to give Yoshinobu Yamamoto an extra day to prepare for Monday's series opener at the Los Angeles Angels. 'This is how you can go on a run, where (Sunday) we got Glass, who's throwing the baseball well, and then we got Yama going on Monday,' Roberts said. 'This is where you can make hay.' Glasnow (1-1, 3.06 ERA) has gone nine consecutive starts without a win after beating the Atlanta Braves in his season opener on March 31. He pitched well enough to win his most recent start last Monday, however, allowing just one run and three hits over seven innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. He departed with the score 1-1, and the Dodgers eventually lost 3-2. 'This is how we hoped it would play out as far as, every night, you see the probables and you have a chance to really prevent runs,' Roberts said. 'Then you look at the lineup, and we feel like we have a lot of opportunities to score, and so then you've got to go play the game.' Glasnow is 1-4 in 10 career starts against the Blue Jays, with a 6.15 ERA. Shohei Ohtani homered on Saturday, becoming the first Dodgers player with back-to-back 40-homer seasons since Shawn Green in 2001 and 2002. Ohtani will face a tough left-hander on Sunday in Eric Lauer (7-2, 2.59 ERA), who is 3-0 in his past four starts with a 2.16 ERA. He most recently held the Colorado Rockies to one run and seven hits over six innings in a 15-1 victory on Monday. Lauer delivered his best outing of the season on July 24, holding the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers to one run and five hits over eight innings in an 11-4 win. 'You really try to just lock in and make sure that you're keeping the pace of the game more than anything,' Lauer said. 'You're not going out there worrying about if the game's close or I can't let guys score. It's more like, don't give up free bases, try to limit damage.' Lauer has done well against the Dodgers in his career, owning a 7-2 record in 12 career starts, with a 2.63 ERA. The Blue Jays will need to perform better with runners in scoring position than they have in the series, going 2-for-14 in that scenario.
National Post
6 hours ago
- National Post
Back-to-back losses to the Dodgers raise concerns over the Blue Jays' playoff viability
Two games into a three-game series in which the Blue have been outscored 14-2 and the differences between them and the host Los Angeles Dodgers couldn't be more clear. Article content A series loss is assured following Toronto's 9-1 embarrassment at Chavez Ravine on Saturday night, but now the Jays must save face in the finale or face the realization that perhaps the perception of this team has been inflated, regardless of its 68-50 record and standing atop the AL East. Article content Article content Article content In Shohei Ohtani, L.A. has that elusive air carrier, baseball's unicorn capable of turning a game on its head with one swing. Ohtani clubbed his 40th home run of the season on Saturday, a solo shot in off Chris Bassitt in the fifth inning that gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. Article content One inning earlier, it was Max Muncy breaking open a scoreless game with a two-run shot. Article content One inning later, the Dodgers broke it open with six runs off Yariel Rodriguez and Seranthony Dominguez, as the Jays bullpen was exposed by a lineup both deep and skilled. Article content Another point to keep in mind for those taking the short view is Toronto's lack of offence, which sorely needs George Springer back in the lineup. Running roughshod over a double-A team — a charitable description by the way, in the Colorado Rockies — may have created a false sense of accomplishment from a team that had just lost six of its previous eight games. Article content Add it all up and the elements that lead to playoff success have gone missing in what represented a litmus test. Article content Article content Through two games, the Jays have failed miserably and fans should be justifiably concerned. Simply put, they have been overmatched while playing an underwhelming brand of baseball. Article content The following are three takeaways on a night the Jays struck out 14 times and recorded three hits through seven innings before Ernie Clement went deep in the eighth. Article content 1. Pound the mound Article content Chris Bassitt versus Blake Snell may not have the same cache as a Max Scherzer-Clayton Kershaw matchup, but both are proven, effective veteran pitchers. Article content When he faced the Jays on Saturday, Snell was making just his second start since coming off the injured list following a shoulder issue, while Bassitt's road splits have been well-documented. Article content Snell, a Cy Young Award winner in both leagues, began the game with three-pitch strikeouts of Davis Schneider and Clement and though his pitch count was high (90 in all), he did give the Dodgers five shutout innings and 10 strikeouts.
Edmonton Journal
6 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
Back-to-back losses to the Dodgers raise concerns over the Blue Jays' playoff viability
Two games into a three-game series in which the Blue have been outscored 14-2 and the differences between them and the host Los Angeles Dodgers couldn't be more clear. Article content A series loss is assured following Toronto's 9-1 embarrassment at Chavez Ravine on Saturday night, but now the Jays must save face in the finale or face the realization that perhaps the perception of this team has been inflated, regardless of its 68-50 record and standing atop the AL East. Article content Article content In Shohei Ohtani, L.A. has that elusive air carrier, baseball's unicorn capable of turning a game on its head with one swing. Ohtani clubbed his 40th home run of the season on Saturday, a solo shot in off Chris Bassitt in the fifth inning that gave the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. Article content One inning later, the Dodgers broke it open with six runs off Yariel Rodriguez and Seranthony Dominguez, as the Jays bullpen was exposed by a lineup both deep and skilled. Article content Another point to keep in mind for those taking the short view is Toronto's lack of offence, which sorely needs George Springer back in the lineup. Running roughshod over a double-A team — a charitable description by the way, in the Colorado Rockies — may have created a false sense of accomplishment from a team that had just lost six of its previous eight games. Article content Article content Add it all up and the elements that lead to playoff success have gone missing in what represented a litmus test. Article content Through two games, the Jays have failed miserably and fans should be justifiably concerned. Simply put, they have been overmatched while playing an underwhelming brand of baseball. Article content The following are three takeaways on a night the Jays struck out 14 times and recorded three hits through seven innings before Ernie Clement went deep in the eighth. Article content 1. Pound the mound Article content Chris Bassitt versus Blake Snell may not have the same cache as a Max Scherzer-Clayton Kershaw matchup, but both are proven, effective veteran pitchers. Article content When he faced the Jays on Saturday, Snell was making just his second start since coming off the injured list following a shoulder issue, while Bassitt's road splits have been well-documented. Article content Snell, a Cy Young Award winner in both leagues, began the game with three-pitch strikeouts of Davis Schneider and Clement and though his pitch count was high (90 in all), he did give the Dodgers five shutout innings and 10 strikeouts.
