Scherzer strikes out 3,000th in stellar day
Max Scherzer had been anticipating his 3,000th career strikeout. He had his family on hand, and Los Angeles Dodgers fans knew it was coming.
Then he nearly threw a perfect game, too.
Scherzer got his milestone and took a perfect game into the eighth inning as the host Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 8-0 Sunday for a three-game sweep.
“In the fifth or sixth, I realized I had something going there,” he said. “Once I was able to get through the sixth, I was like, ‘I got a chance to do this.’ ”
Alas, it wasn’t to be. Scherzer retired his first 22 batters, then Eric Hosmer doubled with one out in the eighth.
Scherzer hit 3,000 career strikeouts in the fifth when Hosmer went down swinging for the second out of the inning. The crowd of 42,637, saluted Scherzer with a standing ovation after he finished the inning.
“It’s just kind of amazing to watch greatness,” Dodgers teammate Mookie Betts said. “You really appreciate the best of the best when you get to see it every day.”
Astros 3, Angels 1: Lance McCullers Jr. threw six strong innings, and Kyle Tucker homered for host Houston. Shohei Ohtani, the Angels’ twoway superstar, went 1-for-3 with a walk.
Mets 7, Yankees 6: Francisco Lindor hit three homers, including a tie-breaking solo shot in the bottom of the eighth, and drove in five runs to help the Mets keep the Yankees a game out of an AL wild-card spot.
Rockies 5, Phillies 4: Garrett Hampson homered twice and had all five RBIs as visiting Colorado dealt a blow to Philadelphia’s playoff hopes.
Brewers 11, Indians 1: Eric Lauer no-hit host Cleveland into the sixth inning a day after Milwaukee threw a historymaking no-no, and his teammates belted five homers.
Blue Jays 22, Orioles 7: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez each had a grand slam, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 44th homer to tie Ohtani for the MLB lead, and visiting Toronto was two runs shy of the franchise record.
Cardinals 2, Reds 0: Nolan Arenado homered for the second game in a row and five pitchers combined on a fivehitter for host St. Louis.
Tigers 8, Rays 7: Robbie Grossman drew a basesloaded walk in the 11th inning, Jeimer Candelario homered twice, and host Detroit beat Tampa Bay.
Braves 5, Marlins 3: Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman each hit a solo homer off Anthony Bass in the seventh inning, and Eddie Rosario went deep off Edward Cabrera in the fourth for host Atlanta.
D’backs 5, Mariners 4: Tyler Gilbert gave up two hits in another sharp outing, Ketel Marte homered and visiting Arizona did more damage to Seattle’s AL wild-card hopes.
White Sox 2, Red Sox 1: Leury Garcia hit a game-ending homer with two outs in the ninth inning for Chicago.
Royals 5, Twins 3: Kyle Isbel drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the eighth inning for visiting Kansas City.
Nationals 6, Pirates 2: Patrick Corbin gave his overworked bullpen a break, working seven strong innings for visiting Washington.