LOS ANGELES: Max Scherzer ran out of the Chase Field bullring 13 years ago. He was one more young pitcher with a lot of potential ready to make his Major League debut.
The D bibs caught Scherzer with the eleventh draft pick in the 2006 MLB draft, fully hoping the right-hander would impact at the big league level. But even Arizona could not predict what has become one of the most impressive races in Major League history.
Scherzer has achieved almost everything in his career. He won a World Series title with the nationals in 2019. He has won the Cy Young Award three times and is making a strong bet for a quarter, 13 years after his debut. He is an eight-time All-Star and is one of four pitchers starting at least four summer classics.
In the Dodgers’ 8-0 win over the Padres on Sunday at Dodger Stadium, Scherzer added another feat to his infallible career at the Hall of Fame, becoming the club’s 19th member with 3,000 attacks. Scherzer recorded his 3,000th professional elimination when he aired Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer in the fifth inning. He then bowed his cap to the fans and received a standing ovation.
However, in the typical Scherzer way, he did not stop here.
Scherzer scored nine on eight goalless innings and flirted with his first perfect career game on Sunday. He retired the first 22 hitters he faced. At one point, it seemed like a tricky single in the field was going to be the parents ’best chance to achieve success against the future Hall of Fame. His things were so dominant.
But in the eighth inning, Hosmer finished the offer of the perfect match with a one-way double. The crowd, which was hanging at each throw, gave a standing ovation to Scherzer.
Scherzer is one of two active pitchers, along with Justin Verlander, who have reached the plateau of 3,000 attacks. Verlander recorded his 3,000th attack on September 28, 2019, but with injuries that limited him to just one start since his career total was 3,013. Scherzer could overtake Verlander by number 18 on the all-time list at the end of the season. Next up would be John Smoltz, who finished his career at the Hall of Fame with 3,084 attacks.
It didn’t take long for Scherzer to reach the milestone on Sunday. He finished with Trent Grisham to start the match. Then Scherzer followed the game by hitting the winger in the second inning. Oh, and he did it as part of an immaculate entrance: he left out the sides again. It’s Scherzer’s third immaculate entry, joining Sandy Koufax, the legend of Chris Sale and the Dodgers, as the only pitchers to have recorded the feat three times.
During the following innings, Scherzer had a pair of two-attack counts, but the Padres batters were able to delay the inevitable. Then, in the fifth inning, Scherzer left out Hosmer making a 3-2 change. He then bowed his cap to the fans and received a standing ovation.
The 14-year veteran recorded his first 240 major league attacks as a member of the D-backs. He then recorded 1,081 with the Tigers and 1,610 with the Nationals before winning the next 69 with the Dodgers to reach the 3,000 mark.
But while Scherzer only has a small percentage of his attacks as a Dodger, he has already had a big impact on the club and the field. Scherzer has been dominant since joining the Dodgers, entering Sunday with a 5-0 record and 1.05 ERA in seven starts with Los Angeles. In a short time, it has become one of the most impressive commercial term acquisitions in the history of franchises.
As for who could be the next pitcher to join the 3,000K club, Astros, right, Zack Greinke, is the closest active pitcher with 2,799 stops. Dodgers left-back Clayton Kershaw is chasing Greinke with 2,653, while no other pitcher featured in a major league game this season has hit 2,500 attacks.