Scherzer ties record with 20 strikeouts
WASHINGTON: Washington’s Max Scherzer struck out 20 batters, matching the major league record for a nine-inning game, as he pitched the Nationals past Detroit 3-2 on Wednesday.
Scherzer had a chance to break the mark when James McCann stepped to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning but McCann, who struck out his previous three times up, grounded to third for the final out.
There was a different kind of remarkable performance by a pitcher in Los Angeles as the New York Mets’ Noah Syndergaard hit two home runs in a win over the Dodgers.
Elsewhere, Texas edged the American League Central division-leading Chicago White Sox, and Seattle completed a sweep of Tampa Bay thanks to an 11th inning homer by Chris Iannetta.
Scherzer’s astounding performance came in his first outing against the Tigers, his former team. He outpitched Jordan Zimmermann, a former Nationals teammate.
Scherzer, who had 17 strike-outs in a game last season, joined Roger Clemens (twice), Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson as the only big league pitchers to compile 20 strike-outs in nine innings.
New York’s Syndergaard became the second pitcher in Mets history to hit two homers, driving in all of the Mets’ runs in a 4-3 victory over the Dodgers.
Syndergaard hit a solo homer on the first pitch of the third inning, and slammed a three-run shot in the fifth. Walt Terrell was the first Mets pitcher to hit two homers in a game at the Chicago Cubs in 1983.
The last major league pitcher to homer twice in a game was Arizona’s Micah Owings in 2007.
On the mound, Syndergaard allowed two runs and in eight innings, struck out six and walked one. He gave up five hits in the first four innings and then retired 11 in a row.
Texas’ Adrian Beltre had the tie-breaking single as the Rangers won 6-5 against the White Sox; their second win in less than 24 hours against the team with the AL’s best record.
Earlier, Beltre had a throwing error in top of the sixth to end his streak of 44 games without one.
White Sox third baseman Todd Frazier left the game and needed five stitches in his lower lip after falling face-first into the first row of seats while trying to catch a foul pop-up.
Seattle beat Tampa Bay 6-5 when Iannetta led off the bottom of the 11th inning with a homer on a full-count pitch by Steve Geltz.
The Rays had tied it 5-5 on a homer with one out in the ninth.
San Diego claimed both games of a double-header at the Chicago Cubs, winning the day game 7-4 and taking the nightcap 1-0.
In the first game, Brett Wallace hit a three-run homer in San Diego’s four-run seventh inning, and the Padres stopped the Cubs’ eight-game win streak.
In the second game, Drew Pomeranz tied a career high with 10 strikeouts in six scoreless innings. No Chicago runner advanced past second base while he was on the mound.
San Francisco’s Buster Posey drew a walk with the bases loaded in the 13th inning to give the Giants a 5-4 win against Toronto.
Brandon Belt was hit by a pitch to open the inning and Denard Span’s bunt attempt was misfielded at second. Following a wild pitch, Joe Panik was walked intentionally.
After a line out, Posey saw four straight balls from Ryan Tepera.
Boston completed a three game sweep of Oakland with a 13-3 victory, as Jackie Bradley Jr had two home runs and six RBIs to extend his hitting streak to 17 games.
Boston scored six runs in the first four innings and then had four more in the fifth to post their third straight game with at least 10 runs. The Red Sox finished with a season-high 17 hits.