‘Kershaw, I’m going first’
Max Scherzer (39, New York Mets) and Clayton Kershaw (35, Los Angeles Dodgers) are tied for third place on the Major League Baseball wins list. Scherzer started Game 1 of the Mets’ 2023 Major League Baseball home doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians at Citi Field in Flushing, N.Y., on Aug. 22 and pitched six innings of three-hit ball, striking out five and walking one. No-decision.토토사이트
Kershaw, on the other hand, started a road game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. He allowed four runs on five hits and six walks with three strikeouts in 3⅔ innings to fall to 4-6 on the season. Scherzer maintained his career win total at 204, while Kershaw fell to 203.
Justin Verlander (40, New York Mets) remains the major league’s all-time winningest active pitcher. With the win, Verlander reached 246 career wins. The game’s save pitcher was Brooks Reilly of the KBO’s Lotte Giants.
Zack Greinke (40, Kansas City Royals) is second on the all-time wins list with 224, but he’s clearly aging. If Scherzer and Kershaw play another year or two, they could surpass him. This is especially motivating for Kershaw, who is in his mid-30s. In fact, Verlander and Scherzer are also 40 and 39 years old. Kershaw’s career wins record will ultimately depend on his health.
That said, it’s unlikely that Scherzer will easily overtake Kershaw for third place on the all-time wins list. His nagging injuries this season certainly don’t bode well. Second season of a three-year, $130 million contract. Scherzer, who has a strong sense of responsibility, didn’t just fall apart.
In the first inning, he struck out Stephen Kwan on a 76-mph curveball, then got Ahmed Rosario to ground out to second on a slider. He walked Jose Ramirez but induced Josh Naylor to fly out to left field on a 93 mph fastball. Josh Bell followed with a curveball, cutter and changeup before getting a foul-tip grounder to second. He sprayed Taylor Freeman with a 92.5 mph fastball, but overall didn’t have his usual velocity.
In the third inning, he gave up a challenging infield single to Mike Zunino, but retired the next three batters. Again, his changeup was much more effective than his fastball. Similar pattern in the fourth and fifth innings. In the sixth, he gave up a 94-mph fastball to Kwan for a single to right, but got Ahmed Rosario to ground out to second and Ramirez to ground out to third.
There’s room for his velocity to rise a bit once he’s back from injury. It’s not the velocity that matters, it’s the results. After Scherzer went down, former KBO player Brooks Railley pitched a scoreless inning to get the hold. Scherzer’s race for most wins is just beginning.