That doesn\u2019t mean, however, that there\u2019s nothing left to play for.<\/p>\n
Which is why, on Friday night at Dodger Stadium, in a pitchers\u2019 duel that saw both veteran aces turn in vintage performances, the two icons who have meant so much to the sport\u2019s past found themselves in the center of its present:<\/p>\n
Pitching for first-place teams. Remaining effective despite their diminished arsenals. And wrapped up in what felt like a pivotal contest entering their clubs\u2019 stretch run of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always fun to pitch for something. I\u2019ve been super spoiled here that, every year, it\u2019s just what you do,\u201d Kershaw said. \u201cI know Scherz has been that way too, a lot of times. So I think that\u2019s what makes us keep \u2014 or at least what makes me keep going. I\u2019m sure Scherz is the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Dodgers\u2019 5-1 win<\/a> over Scherzer and the Toronto Blue Jays, it was Kershaw who proved to be a fraction better \u2014 giving up only one run to Scherzer\u2019s two on a night they both went six innings.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, pitching against Scherz, you know you\u2019re gonna have a battle on your hands,\u201d Kershaw said afterward. \u201cI got to play with him, I got to compete against him, basically our whole careers.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the first time Kershaw and Scherzer crossed paths was on this same field almost two decades prior. On Sept. 7, 2008, Kershaw filled in for one future Hall of Famer, Greg Maddux<\/a>. Scherzer did the same for another, Randy Johnson<\/a>, while playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go back to that game, we\u2019re competing all the way back then,\u201d Scherzer said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a cool little milestone moment here, where we\u2019re hooking it back up against each other, squaring off each other again.\u201d<\/p>\n At that time, neither could have foreseen what lay ahead in their careers (including a brief stint as teammates with the Dodgers during their failed title defense in 2021). <\/p>\n Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw delivers in the first inning Friday against the Blue Jays at Dodger Stadium.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n And looking back, they could have never envisioned finding themselves \u2014 along with fellow future Hall of Fame pitcher and 3,000-strikeout member Justin Verlander \u2014 in an exclusive class of era-defining pitchers.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s our last year,\u201d Kershaw quipped, \u201cbut [we\u2019re] toward the end, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n While that may be true, both pitchers have kept going with nights such as Friday\u2019s in mind. <\/p>\n For Kershaw, this is the first time since 2020 he is entering the stretch run of the season without any obvious injury concerns \u2014 a welcome relief after being sidelined for last year\u2019s World Series run. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is why he came back,\u201d manager Dave Roberts<\/a> said. \u201cTo be a part of a pennant race.\u201d<\/p>\n Scherzer, meanwhile, is now more than a month removed from an early-season thumb injury, returning just in time to help the upstart Blue Jays (68-49) make a push for a surprise American League East crown.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here to win,\u201d Scherzer said. \u201cThis one stings.\u201d<\/p>\n Over Kershaw\u2019s six innings, the 37-year-old left-hander navigated traffic and limited damage. He gave up seven hits (his second-most all season) and failed to record an out in any of his four at-bats against a left-hander (\u201cI got to figure that out,\u201d he bemoaned). <\/p>\n Yet, he held Toronto to only one run with the help of four strikeouts and three crucial double-plays \u2014 none bigger than the bases-loaded line drive Mookie Betts<\/a> snared at shortstop with one out in the second, then flipped to the bag at second to double off a runner.<\/p>\n Mookie Betts celebrates with teammate Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez (37) after hitting a two-run home run for the Dodgers in the fifth inning Friday.<\/p>\n (Gina Ferazzi \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cMookie making that double play in the second kind of really got me going,\u201d said Kershaw, who now has a 3.14 earned-run average in 14 starts this season. \u201cThe second inning could have gotten out of hand there.\u201d<\/p>\n The 41-year-old Scherzer, meanwhile, saw what had been a scoreless night shattered by two swings in the fifth. First, Shohei Ohtani<\/a> hit a two-out, ground-rule double over the wall in right. Then Betts belted a go-ahead, two-run homer on a hanging first-pitch slider \u2014 part of a two-hit, three-RBI night that, after a career-worst 0-for-22 drought earlier this week, now has him six-for-his-last-10.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot more confident now,\u201d Betts said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see how tomorrow goes. I enjoyed today. But got to turn the page.\u201d<\/p>\n The Dodgers (67-49) eventually pulled away late, scoring three times against the Blue Jays\u2019 bullpen in the seventh.<\/p>\n But by the end of the night, the attention still revolved around Kershaw and Scherzer \u2014 who met afterward in the Dodgers\u2019 home dugout to swap jerseys and pose arm-in-arm for a photo.<\/p>\n Competitors. Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw swapped jerseys after their historic meeting on the mound. pic.twitter.com\/Fs0lhLHqpz<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
Friends.
Legends of our game. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/rTXW1HkZLQU\/hqdefault.jpg\")