Maddox → Kershaw, Johnson → Scherzer This is the 5th face-to-face relationship that began 17 years ago

Aug 08, 2025

Maddox → Kershaw, Johnson → Scherzer This is the 5th face-to-face relationship that began 17 years ago
LA Dodgers Clayton Kershaw takes the mound against the Boston Red Sox on the 27th of last month (Korea time) and sprays the ball vigorously. AP Yonhap News



Maddox → Kershaw, Johnson → Scherzer This is the 5th face-to-face relationship that began 17 years ago
Toronto Blue Jays Max Scherzer takes the mound against Athletics on the 12th of last month (Korea time) and throws the ball vigorously. AP Yonhap News
One of the few rare matchups in major league history in 150 years has been achieved.

It is a showdown between pitchers who have achieved 3,000 strikeouts in total. LA Dodgers Clayton Kershaw and Toronto Blue Jays Max Scherzer will face each other at Dodger Stadium at 11:10 a.m. on the 9th (Korea time).

Kershaw struck out three in six innings at home against the Chicago White Sox on July 3, becoming the third active San Francisco Giants to reach the 3,000-strikeout mark after Justin Verlander (3497) and Scherzer (3451). Since then, it has added 10 to rank 20th in history with 3010.




Both players are considered to be successful in reviving this season. Kershaw, who made his comeback in May after undergoing toe and knee surgery after winning the World Series last year, pitched 65 ⅔ innings in 13 games with a 5-2 record, 3.29 ERA, 42 strikeouts, and WHIP 1.25. Although he is not in his prime, he is now healthy enough to trust him for five to six innings.

Maddox → Kershaw, Johnson → Scherzer This is the 5th face-to-face relationship that began 17 years ago
LA Dodgers Clayton Kershaw. AFP Yonhap News
Maddox → Kershaw, Johnson → Scherzer This is the 5th face-to-face relationship that began 17 years ago
Toronto Blue Jays Max Scherzer. ImagesYonhap News
Scherzer signed a $15.5 million FA contract last winter and wore a Toronto jersey. However, he injured his right thumb in his first appearance of the season and went on the IL and returned on June 26 after nearly three months of rehabilitation. He pitched 41 innings in eight games with a 2-1 record, a 4.39 ERA, 44 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.05. Like Kershaw, the heyday has passed, but he has the skill and determination to expect a quality start.

In particular, Scherzer won his second victory of the season with five hits and one run in six innings against the Kansas City Royals on the 3rd. Just before that, against the Detroit Tigers on July 28, he struck out 11 and allowed three runs in seven innings, his most this season. Expectations are high for this Dodgers match.




Kershaw also won against the Tampa Bay Rays on the 2nd with five hits and no runs in six innings.

The two were drafted side by side in the first round of the 2006 draft. Kershaw wore the Arizona Diamondbacks uniform with the Dodgers seventh overall and Scherzer 11th overall. It is the same year that he made his Major League debut in 2008. This is the fifth time that the two pitchers will face off.

Maddox → Kershaw, Johnson → Scherzer This is the 5th face-to-face relationship that began 17 years ago
Kershaw pitches against St. Louis on May 26, 2008 (Korea Standard Time). AP Yonhap News
Maddox → Kershaw, Johnson → Scherzer This is the 5th face-to-face relationship that began 17 years ago
Max Scherzer who pitched against San Francisco on June 12, 2009 (Korea Standard Time) when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks. AP Yonhap News
Scherzer made his major league debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008. He first met Kershaw, the Dodgers rookie, at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 8 that year.

What's interesting is that it was a game where Dodgers Greg Maddox and Arizona Randy Johnson would face off at the time. However, as Johnson skipped the rotation once due to back pain and Kershaw was strong against Arizona (four hits and no runs in six innings against Arizona a month ago), Kershaw and Scherzer will start instead of Maddox and Johnson. The result was Kershaw allowing six hits and four strikeouts and three runs and Scherzer allowing five hits and 11 strikeouts in five innings. Neither won or lost, but Scherzer was more impressive and sharp.

The two players then face off three more times after winning many Cy Young Awards, with Kershaw winning (eight hits, seven strikeouts and three runs in five innings) and Scherzer, a former member of the Washington Nationals, losing (five hits, five strikeouts and four runs in six innings).

On April 21, 2018, Scherzer won with four hits and one run in six innings, and Kershaw lost with nine hits and four runs in seven innings, respectively. In the face-off on April 12, 2021, Kershaw won five hits and no runs in six innings, and Scherzer lost three hits and one run in six innings, respectively. It was four showdowns that were difficult to determine the superiority and inferiority.

Scherzer moved to the Dodgers for a while in July 2021 and became an FA while sharing a meal with Kershaw and moved to the New York Mets for three years and $130 million. However, due to frequent injuries, he was unable to do his part and headed to Toronto this year via the Texas Rangers.

Maddox → Kershaw, Johnson → Scherzer This is the 5th face-to-face relationship that began 17 years ago
Max Scherzer, who pitched in Game 7 of the ALCS against Houston in October 2023 during his time at Texas. AP Yonhap News
According to MLB.com , there were 20 showdowns between 3,000 strikeouts in the 1980s, but it wasn't until 2006. Greg Maddox and Roger Clemens met on July 20 of that year. Kurt Schilling and Clemens met on September 17, 2007, and Scherzer and Verlander faced off on September 7, 2023.

Kershaw and Scherzer booked a Hall of Fame (HOF) entry with Verlander. She won three Cy Young Awards side by side. Kershaw pitched 2,808 ⅓ innings in 445 games (442 starts), 217 wins and 96 losses, 2.52 ERA, and Scherzer pitched 2,919 innings in 474 games (465 starts), 218 wins and 113 losses and 3.18 ERA, respectively.

Scherzer still throws powerful fastballs. This year's four-seam speed reaches up to 95.8 miles and an average of 93.6 miles. The hit rate on the fastball is 0.190. Kershaw's average fastball speed is only 89.0 miles, but he is stable with a large curve and a pitch that catches the slider as his main weapon. The hit rate of the curve is 0.167 and the induction rate of swing and miss is 38.6%.

I look forward to the confrontation between living legends.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.