Dodgers put their trust in mad Max in wild-card game

Trea Turner has the scouting report on Max Scherzer ahead of today’s National League wild-card game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

“He’s already angry,” Turner said.

A teammate in Washington and now Los Angeles for parts of seven seasons, Turner knows what a mad Max Scherzer is capable of doing in the postseason. During the Nationals’ run from wild-card entry to World Series champion in 2019, Scherzer made five starts and one relief appearance for the Nationals, posting a 2.40 ERA over 30 postseason innings and holding opposing batters to a .193 batting average. The Nationals won all six games in which Scherzer pitched.

“We feel very good with Max taking the mound,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

That faith is unshaken by Scherzer’s final two regularseason starts, his worst since joining the Dodgers. After being utterly dominant in his first nine starts for the Dodgers (a 0.78 ERA and .150 batting average allowed) — a stretch that could land Scherzer his fourth Cy Young Award — Scherzer gave up 11 runs on 17 hits (including three home runs) in 10 1/3 innings against the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres — a stretch that could cost Scherzer his fourth Cy Young Award.

That might have cost the NL West title too — the Dodgers finished a game behind the Giants. And it left them in the position of starting the postseason with an elimination game.

Scherzer and the Dodgers will face 40-year-old Adam Wainwright (17-7, 3.05 ERA) of the Cardinals, who used a 17-game winning streak down the stretch to lock up the second NL wild card

“I don’t know about scary. It’s fun,” Turner said. “It’s a Game 7.

“We’ve got a chance to win a ring and that’s all that matters.”

— Bill Plunkett FOR STARTERS >> Rays lefthander Shane McClanahan will start Game of 1 of the ALDS against Houston on Thursday.

McClanahan went 10-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 25 starts this season.

Rays manager Kevin Cash also said rookie Shane Baz will take the mound for Game 2 on Friday.

• Left-hander Framber Valdez will start for the Astros in Game 2 of the ALDS on Friday.

Valdez won a career-high 11 games this season with 125 strikeouts, and his 3.14 ERA in 22 starts was his best since his rookie season in 2018.

Manager Dusty Baker previously said Lance McCullers Jr. will start in the series opener Thursday. SIGNINGS >> The Rockies agreed to multiyear deals with right-hander Antonio Senzatela and first-baseman C.J. Cron.

Senzatela’s $50.5 million, five-year contract includes a club option for 2027. Cron will return on a $14.5 million, two-year deal.

The 26-year-old Senzatela is coming off a season in which he made 28 starts and finished with a 4-10 record. He posted a 4.42 ERA and struck out 105 over a career-high 156 2/3 innings.

The 31-year-old Cron hit .281 with a team-leading 28 homers after signing a freeagent deal last February. His three grand slams this season were the most in franchise history.

• Shortstop Alcides Escobar agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract to stay with the Nationals. Escobar batted .288 with 21 doubles, two triples, four homers and 28 RBIs with Washington.