Max Scherzer made sure he would not be in Albert Pujols’ shadow on Monday afternoon by striking 13 batters out on a day when the focus was supposed to be on the former’s potential final return to St. Louis.
Instead, it was a native who ended up grabbing all of the attention via the above-mentioned feat in the 5-1 win over the Cardinals.
Scherzer was born in St. Louis, went to high school in nearby Chesterfield, and went to college at the University of Missouri. He put on a show for his hometown – not that the locals were particularly pleased – doing his work in eight innings and handing a timely boost to a Los Angeles Dodgers team recovering from a night of travel.
Manager Dave Roberts was full of praise for the player on the back of the incredible performance with claims Scherzer has exceeded expectations.
“He’s better than advertised,” Roberts said. “We knew what we were going to get as far as the player. He’s certainly even exceeded that.”
Roberts pointed out that the pitcher has been making a difference off the field too as his teammates have fed off his positivity. Scherzer has already developed a reputation in L.A as someone with a tireless work ethic, and every bit of his preparation shone through on a day he was needed, with the team getting to their hotel around 3:00 AM local time ahead of a short turnover.
They had to be back on the field just 12 hours later but Scherzer’s pitching ensured they weren’t in much trouble as he brought his ERA even lower, having claimed a league-best 2.28 for the year. The St. Louis native allowed a single unearned run in what was the most impressive of his streak of remarkable performances since he was recruited by Los Angeles.
The Dodgers made their play to get Scherzer with the intent to land a man who could help strengthen their championship roster. But, as Roberts will tell you, the player is better than advertised and has done more than required as he has been carrying the team, along with Walker Buehler and Julio Urias, proving his addition was a timely one given the taxed rotation.
The 37-year-old has 63 strikeouts and five walks to his name in seven starts, with all of them coming in the form of wins. The Dodgers are still the favorites for the World Series according to the current MLB lines and their prospects are truly enhanced with Scherzer now in the mix.
“That’s what coming over here my job is to do, is to go out here when it’s my turn to go out there and win,” he explained. “There’s a ton of pressure to do that. You’ve got to compartmentalize it and go out there and accept it.”
His recent exploits have seen him become one of just eight pitchers in MLB history to post at least 200 strikeouts in a season nine times. He is one of two active players to achieve this, with Justin Verlander the other.
“That’s a huge milestone. It’s something I’ll be proud of,” Scherzer admitted. “It’s great to go out there and get strikeouts, but it’s great to go out there and pitch well.”
While he’s proud to be the holder of the best ERA in baseball this season, Scherzer says he’s more into the means than the end.
“For me, that’s executing all five pitches, knowing when to locate, knowing how to attack the strike zone,” he insisted. “That’s what I’m worried about.
“I don’t get caught up in the results. I focus on the process. Results take care of themselves. Results are great when you get them. For me, it’s all about throwing strikes.”
Scherzer prompted 25 swings and misses on Monday, with at least one coming on each of his five pitches. St. Louis took 17 swings on his sliders and missed on 10 occasions.
“The guy is tough,” St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said of the opposing star. “Today, he got the better of us. He did a nice job. He gets better as he goes. He’s a workhorse. He expects to go deep in games.’
Scherzer worked with pitching coach Mark Prior and catcher Austin Barnes during the game so he could make adjustments to deal with the Cardinals’ aggression in the early going and would employ more offspeed pitches after the shadows made seeing harder after midday.
The player boasts a 1.05 ERA in his seven starts as a pitcher for the Dodgers and he will be happy he wasn’t bothered by the tight hamstring that troubled him in his last start.
“He’s been outstanding,” teammate Chris Taylor said. “We knew what we were getting, but I think he’s even exceeded our expectations. He’s been unbelievable.”
“Obviously haven’t been feeling the best the last couple weeks and felt good to finally get a barrel on something and see it go over the fence and really just contribute,” Taylor said of his own performance. “I’ve been grinding, especially that last series. So, that felt good. Hopefully, I can relax and carry that into the rest of the season.”
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or send an email to newstip@hometownstation.com. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox. Report a typo or error, email Corrections@hometownstation.com
KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
No comments:
Post a Comment