Max Scherzer came close to throwing the 24th perfect game in MLB history on Sunday but had to settle for a milestone even more difficult to achieve.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Scherzer became the 19th pitcher to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, hitting the magic number in the fifth inning of the World Series champions' 8-0 rout of the San Diego Padres.
The man he struck out to reach that mark, Padres first baseman Eric Hosmer, was the only San Diego player to reach base. His one-out double to right field in the eighth ended Scherzer's bid to join the legendary Sandy Koufax as the only Dodgers to throw a perfect game.
Scherzer was making just his eighth start for the storied franchise after arriving from the Washington Nationals in a trade at the end of July.
It is fair to say his new team is even more impressed than they were when they had to face him in previous years.
"Obviously you see him from afar, dominating," Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts told reporters. "You face him a couple of times, he goes seven, eight innings every single time. But just to be playing behind him is so much more fun. I mean it’s just kind of amazing to watch greatness."
Though Scherzer has now allowed just a lone unearned run over his last four starts, he has rarely been as dominant as he was against the Padres.
Knowing he needed six strikeouts to reach 3,000, the right-handed ace fanned two batters in the first before producing an "immaculate inning" in the second – striking out all three men he faced on the minimum nine pitches.
That put him one away from the mark and he finally got it in the fifth when Hosmer swung through a 3-2 changeup.
"It's hard to describe the emotions of it," Scherzer said. "It’s an awesome achievement, awesome milestone. Not that many people have reached this milestone. ...
"I love strikeouts and to me this is a testament to durability to me going out there every single time, making my 30-plus starts a year, year in, year out.
"Everybody can have the ability to do this. But few have the durability to do this."
And only one player has reached 3,000 in fewer innings than Scherzer's 2,516: Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who did it in 2,470.2 innings.
Scherzer started at least 30 games every year from 2009-2018 for the Nationals and Detroit Tigers, winning three Cy Young Awards in the process.
His performance since moving to Los Angeles may well earn him a fourth this season, particularly if he keeps it up in the closing weeks as the Dodgers try to chase down the San Francisco Giants in the National League (NL) West.
"I just can't imagine anyone being any better than this, especially with where we're at in the season," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
MLB: Red-hot Mets lose Senga but beat reeling Braves
J. D. Martinez highlighted a seven-run third with a grand slam and Kodai Senga won his season debut before leaving with an injury as the New York Mets remained red hot with an 8-4 win over the
struggling Atlanta Braves on Friday night.
Senga allowed two runs – both on Adam Duvall’s second-inning home run – and two hits over 5 1/3 innings with one walk and nine strikeouts after spending the first four months of the season on the injured list with a right shoulder strain.
He left in the sixth when he strained his left calf after throwing 73 pitches. Senga will have an MRI on Saturday.
New York won its fifth straight and moved past the Braves for the NL’s top wild card. The Mets (55-48) are a season-high seven games over .500 following their 11th win in 14 games.
The Mets reached Charlie Morton for seven runs in the third.
After Tyrone Taylor reached on an error by third baseman Austin Riley, Francisco Lindor was hit by a pitch and Brandon Nimmo walked. Martinez then belted his ninth career grand slam to give the Mets a 4-2 lead. Morton retired Pete Alonso, but Jeff McNeil doubled and Vientos followed with his 14th home run. One out later, Francisco Alvarez homered to make it 7-2.
Duvall hit his second home run of the game in the ninth and Marcell Ozuna added his 29th, but the Braves lost their season-high sixth straight. That is their longest slide since another six-game skid from Sept. 25-30, 2017.
Profar’s blasts power streaking Padres
Jurickson Profar hit his second two-run homer to snap a ninth-inning tie and the San Diego Padres won their sixth straight, 6-4 over the Baltimore Orioles.
Profar took struggling Orioles closer Craig Kimbrel deep in the ninth to score Luis Campusano, who singled with one out.
Kimbrel blew saves in two of his previous three appearances and has allowed eight runs in his last 3 2/3 innings.
Profar hit his first two-run shot of the game off Grayson Rodriguez in the sixth to erase a 2-0 deficit.
San Diego had 13 hits and used eight pitchers one day after Dylan Cease threw a no-hitter at Washington.
Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg homered for the first-place Orioles, who have lost four of five and nine of 13.
Red Sox rally, overcome Judge’s long home run
Masataka Yoshida capped a three-run eighth with a two-run single and the Boston Red Sox overcame Aaron Judge’s major league-leading 36th home run in a come-from-behind 9-7 win over the reeling New York Yankees.
Judge’s three-run blast in the seventh gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead and was measured at 470 feet. It landed in a small section of stands above a back wall and below a videoboard.
Austin Wells followed with a solo shot to make it 7-4.
The Red Sox got two runs back in the bottom half on Ceddanne Rafaela’s two-run homer off Luke Weaver that went over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park.
Weaver allowed Rob Refsnyder’s third hit of the game to lead off the eighth and walked Connor Wong.
Clay Holmes relieved with one out and allowed Wilyer Abreu’s tying double before Yoshida singled home two runs.
The Yankees have lost five of six and are 10-23 since a 50-22 start.
Mariners reportedly acquire Arozarena from Rays
Randy Arozarena is on the move,
The Seattle Mariners are reportedly acquiring Arozarena in a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.
As part of the trade, which was reported late Thursday by multiple sources, the Mariners are sending the Rays outfielder Aidan Smith, right-hander Brody Hopkins and a player to be named later.
Arozarena was named to his first All-Star team last year, but is struggling a bit this season.
He is batting a career-low .213, but does have 15 home runs, 19 doubles and 16 stolen bases in 99 games.
His .717 OPS, however, is higher than any of Seattle's everyday players.
The Mariners are in need of a jolt with their offence suddenly struggling.
After leading the AL West by 10 games on June 18, Seattle has lost 20 of 29 and now trails the Houston Astros by one game for the division lead.
The offence has been the biggest culprit for the recent slide, as the Mariners have plated exactly one run in each of their last three games and have scored two or fewer in seven of their last eight.
Seattle is also in need of another outfielder with star centre fielder Julio Rodríguez sidelined until August with a high-ankle sprain sustained Sunday.
Cease tosses second no-hitter in Padres franchise history with gem against Nationals
Two years ago, Dylan Cease came within one out of throwing a no-hitter.
Against the Washington Nationals on Thursday, he finished the job, recording all 27 outs without allowing a hit.
Cease threw the second no-hitter in San Diego Padres franchise history, baffling the Nationals during a 3-0 win.
Cease improved to 10-8 and struck out nine in his nine sterling innings of work to win his third straight start.
Despite walking three batters, Cease faced only one over the minimum, with the Nationals caught stealing in the first inning and grounding into a double play in the fourth.
He threw 71 of his 114 pitches for strikes en route to joining Joe Musgrove as the only San Diego pitchers to throw a no-hitter. Musgrove's came against the Texas Rangers on April 9, 2021.
Baseball's latest no-no is the second of the season after the Houston Astros' Ronel Blanco threw one against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1.
Cease's achievement also helps take away some of the sting from his near no-hitter from two years ago.
While pitching for the Chicago White Sox on September 3, 2022, he was one out away from no-hitting the Minnesota Twins, when current teammate Luis Arraez broke it up with a single to right-centre.
In this one, he got CJ Abrams to hit a flyout to right field for the final out.
Cease is in his first year with the Padres after beginning his career with the White Sox, and after a rocky June, has been pitching brilliantly lately.
In his last three outings, he has not allowed a run, while surrendering just two hits and seven walks over 22 innings while piling up 30 strikeouts.
His latest gem helped San Diego to its fifth consecutive win.
The Padres (55-50) didn’t need much offence against the Nationals (47-56) to back Cease, with Ha-Seong Kim plating all three runs on a first-inning single off Patrick Corbin.
Kershaw makes season debut in Dodgers' win over Giants
Clayton Kershaw permitted two runs over four innings in his first start of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers went on to beat the San Francisco Giants 6-4.
The game was tied 4-4 until Nick Ahmed and Shohei Ohtani homered on consecutive pitches in the eighth inning to lead the NL West-leading Dodgers (62-42) to their sixth win in seven games since the All-Star break.
Ohtani's homer was his 31st of the season and his second in the last five games. He also doubled to give him four doubles since the All-Star break.
Kershaw allowed six hits and two walks with six strikeouts, while throwing 47 of his 72 pitches for strikes in his first start since Game 1 of last October's NL Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner had shoulder surgery four weeks later.
Ohtani signed with the Dodgers a month later and this was the first game the Japanese superstar and Kershaw played together.
Heliot Ramos led the Giants (49-55) with three hits and drove in a run while Jorge Soler singled twice.
Logan Webb yielded four runs and nine hits, and now has surrendered 15 runs and 25 hits with eight walks over 16 innings in his last three starts.
Mets beat Braves in 10 innings to stay hot
Jeff McNeil drove in the winning run with a 10th-inning hit on a ball Ramón Laureano misplayed in the New York Mets' 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves.
McNeil's hit was just the third of the game for the Mets, and possibly could've been caught had Laureano not overrun it. The ball was hit hard down into the right-field corner and Laureano raced to track it down but ran too far and couldn't catch it as he reached his glove back across his body.
Jose Iglesias scored from second base, giving New York (54-48) its fourth straight win, and 10th victory in 13 games.
The Braves (54-47), meanwhile, lost their fifth straight game, as the Mets moved within one-half game of them for the NL's top wild-card spot.
McNeil and Francisco Lindor have been leading the charge for New York.
McNeil has driven in six runs in the last four games, and is hitting .417 with four home runs and nine RBIs in seven games since the All-Star break.
Lindor homered for the fifth time in four games, and is batting .359 with 14 RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak.
Atlanta squandered another stellar outing from Chris Sale.
The eight-time All-Star yielded two runs, two hits and a walk while striking out nine over 7 1/3 innings. It marked the eighth straight start in which he allowed two runs or fewer.
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