AROUND THE HORN
Dodgers, Padres:
Max Scherzer had been anticipating his 3,000th career strikeout. He had his family on hand, and Dodgers fans knew it was coming. As if that wasn’t enough history for one day, he nearly threw a perfect game, too. Scherzer got his milestone and took a perfect game into the eighth as the Dodgers beat the Padres 8-0 on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep. Scherzer retired his first 22 batters, including Fernando Tatis Jr. just before Eric Hosmer doubled to deep right with one out in the eighth. The crowd of 42,637, including his wife, three children and parents, saluted Scherzer with a standing ovation after he finished the inning, his second of the day. Scherzer reached 3,000 career strikeouts in the fifth when Hosmer went down swinging for the second out of the inning. The crowd roared long and loud for the 37-year-old three-time Cy Young Award winner, who doffed his cap and threw the historic ball toward the dugout. Scherzer (14-4) struck out nine overall on 92 pitches over eight innings in recording his 10th straight win. He has tossed 29 innings without allowing an earned run and is 6-0 in eight games with an 0.88 ERA since joining the Dodgers at the July trade deadline. Scherzer leads the majors with a 2.17 ERA. Corey Seager and Mookie Betts hit solo HRS, and Justin Turner added a threerun blast in the seventh to power the Dodgers offense in the victory . ... Padres starter Blake Snell left after 11 pitches with a left adductor injury. “It’s something that he’s dealt with in the past,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said of Snell, the 28-year-old lefty who won the AL Cy Young while with the Rays. “... He already feels a little bit better.”
Blue Jays: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernández each hit a grand slam, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. slugged his 44th HR, and the Blue Jays overpowered the host Orioles 22-7, finishing two runs shy of the franchise record. Guerrero’s drive tied him with Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead. Jake Lamb also homered during a 10-run third for the Jays, who took three of the four in the series. The Jays scored 44 runs in their three victories. Gurriel set the franchise record with his fourth grand slam of the season and also had a two-run HR in the fifth to drive in seven runs. Danny Jansen had four hits, including three doubles, and four RBIS. Ryan Mountcastle hit his 28th HR, equaling the Orioles rookie record set by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1982.
Brewers: Eric Lauer no-hit the Indians into the sixth a day after the Brewers threw a history-making no-no and his teammates belted five HRS in an 11-1 road win. Just hours after Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined on the record ninth no-hitter in the majors this season — and the Indians’ record third time being no-hit this year — Lauer threatened to make it two in a row. Lauer (6-5) allowed one run and three hits while throwing 88 pitches in 5 innings. Kolten Wong and Avisaíl García each homered twice. Manny Piña also connected, and the Brewers moved closer to the NL Central title with a three-game series sweep.
Extra innings: Wilmer Flores homered and drove in three runs, Kris Bryant scored two against his former team, and the NL West-leading Giants hung on to beat the host Cubs 6-5 for a three-game series sweep and their season-high seventh straight win. Bryant, an NL rookie of the year and league MVP with the Cubs, was 4-for-12 with five runs in an emotional first series against former team since being traded prior to the July 30 deadline . ... The Rays placed RHP Chris Archer on the 10-day IL with hip discomfort. Archer (1-1) left an Aug. 22 start because of left hip tightness but has made three starts since.
three games. Miami graduate transfer Robert Burns has been the most efficient back, rushing for 3.7 yards a pop on 11 attempts.
Uconn’s faulty run game, a co-product of a struggling offensive line, has played a large role in the Huskies’ inability to score. They’ve yet to score a single point against an FBS opponent and have only reached the red zone once. Spanos said the fix could be as simple as getting all members of the offense working in sync.
“The O-line has to stay engaged with the running back, and the quarterback has to make the right reads,” Spanos said. “Also, the receivers have got to do their job . ... We’ve got to execute better.”
Aside from the dualthreat capability, Krajewski’s play looked to be more of the same as his predecessor. He threw for 99 yards on 14-of-25 passing and struggled with ball security. He fumbled twice, though both loose balls were recovered by Uconn, and tossed an interception late in the fourth quarter when the Huskies were already down, 49-0.
He showed a bit of precision early, finding Cameron Hairston down the sideline for a 25-yard gain on the second play of the game, but he was kept largely in check for the remainder. The passing offense was limited largely to screens and check downs as the Huskies picked up just three first downs through the air and totaled 222 yards of total offense.
Spanos said he didn’t make any changes in regards to offensive responsibility within the coaching staff.
“Not where it needs to be,” Krajewski said of his performance. “There’s a lot of things I can do better and cleaner, some decisions I’ve got to make that will benefit us and take advantage of what the defense is giving us. I’ll get better. My teammates will get better. Coaching will get better. We’re on the rise. I haven’t lost faith. I haven’t lost any confidence in our offense.”
Injury report
Spanos said that both senior linebacker Omar Fortt and Jeremy Lucien are “day to day” with undisclosed injuries and that he’ll have updates on Tuesday. The rest of those who played Saturday left with a clean bill of health.