Fellow members of the esteemed 3,000 strikeouts club, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw both took the mound at Dodger Stadium on Friday night in their fifth all-time matchup (fourth in the regular season).
Scherzer and Kershaw each pitched six innings and had stretches where they ran into trouble. Kershaw limited the Toronto Blue Jays to just one run to best Scherzer, who gave up two runs in a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“Obviously pitching against Scherz, you know you’re going to have a battle on your hands,” Kershaw said after the game. “He threw the ball really well tonight. The ball was coming out really well, the guys were saying his fastball still has a lot of jump to it.
“It’s not lost on me. I think it’s really cool that Scherz was the guy right before me to get to 3,000 (strikeouts), and I got to play with him, got to compete against him basically our whole careers. So it is really cool that we got to do this in our first year, and I don’t know if it’s our last year, but towards the end for sure, so it’s been a fun ride to get to watch him and (Justin) Verlander.
“To get to compete against him tonight was a lot of fun. He’s still doing it. I think he’s way older than me. He’s like, 41, so he’s way older than me.”
Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer did a jersey swap after the game last night.
🎥: @BlueJays pic.twitter.com/Sgr8liSlHb— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) August 9, 2025
While Kershaw poked fun at the age of his former Dodgers teammate, the mutual respect shared between the two future Hall of Famers was on full display as they exchanged autographed jerseys in the dugout.
As Scherzer went to sign his, he ensured Kershaw’s jersey included inscriptions of some of his career accomplishments: three-time National League Cy Young Award winner, two-time World Series champion, 2014 MVP.
Scherzer’s jersey also had mention of his World Series titles and reaching 3,000 career strikeouts.
“That was really cool,” Mookie Betts told DodgerBlue.com of getting to witness Scherzer and Kershaw pitch against each other in their respective 18th seasons. “They’ve been battling it out for a long, long time. It’s really good to see them still going at it. It’s just a blessing to be a part of something like that.”
Max Scherzer vs. Clayton Kershaw history
The Dodgers are now 4-1 in games started by Scherzer and Kershaw.
Sept. 7, 2008
As famously told by Vin Scully on the FSN Prime Ticket broadcast, the first time Scherzer and Kershaw pitched against each other was somewhat of a surprise.
Randy Johnson and Greg Maddux were originally scheduled to pitch in the series finale between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Dodgers late in the 2008 season. But fate brought about change as Johnson was dealing with back trouble and the Dodgers pushed Maddux back as part of a matchup strategy.
Kershaw, still in his rookie season, allowed three runs over just four innings.
Scherzer, another first-round pick from the 2006 MLB Draft, also allowed three runs but pitched five innings in just the 13th game (fourth start) of his career.
The Dodgers defeated the Diamondbacks, 5-3, in the afternoon matchup at Dodger Stadium.
Game 1 of 2016 NLDS
It took more than eight years for another pitching matchup between two of the best from their generation. The stakes were certainly higher as the Dodgers were on the road to face the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Oct. 7, 2016.
Kershaw again pitched one inning fewer than his counterpart, collecting seven strikeouts while allowing three runs over five.
Scherzer went six innings but gave up four runs as the Dodgers took Game 1 with a 4-3 victory at Nationals Park.
The Dodgers went on to eliminate the Nationals in five games.
April 20, 2018
The Nationals lone win in the Scherzer-Kershaw matchups came at Dodger Stadium during the 2018 season.
Scherzer shut down the Dodgers to the tune of nine strikeouts over six innings of one-run ball.
Kershaw allowed provided length with seven innings pitched, but gave up four runs on nine hits in the Dodgers’ 5-2 loss.
April 11, 2021
In their final matchup during Scherzer’s Nationals career, Kershaw avenged his defeat from three years earlier as he turned in six shutout innings.
The Dodgers needed every bit of his brilliance as Scherzer allowed just one run over six innings.
The Dodgers came away with a 3-0 win.
Aug. 9, 2025
With both pitchers nearing the end of their careers, they went toe-to-toe at Dodger Stadium yet again.
Kershaw benefitted from three double plays as he held the Blue Jays to just one run in six innings. Scherzer limited the Dodgers to two runs across six innings pitched as well.
The Dodgers added on against the Blue Jays’ bullpen for a 5-1 win.
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