by Cary Osborne
The focus before and during most of the game on Friday night at Dodger Stadium was the two historic pitchers on the mound — Dodger Clayton Kershaw and Blue Jay Max Scherzer.
And deservedly so, for how they have pitched in their careers and how they pitched in the game.
But something had to give, and one other historic figure was the one who forced it.
Mookie Betts, one of the greatest position players of this generation in the midst of the most challenging season of his career, took Scherzer deep in the fifth inning for his first home run since July 5.
Betts’ two-run homer was a difference-maker in the first duel between two members of the 3,000 Strikeout Club in Dodger Stadium history.
Betts was jubilant as he circled the bases.
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He also drove in a run in the seventh inning on a fielder’s choice grounder in the Dodgers’ 5–1 win.
“My season’s kind of over, so I’m going to have to chalk that up for not a great season, but I can help the boys win every night,” Betts said. “Do something, get an RBI, make a play — do something. I kind of have to shift my focus there. Obviously, everyone wants to have great seasons, but it’s a lot easier when you just don’t worry about the season. You just worry about the game to game. And so I think I’ll take this perspective for the rest of my career.”
The eight-time All-Star, who this year was not selected to an All-Star team for the first time since 2015, was 0 for his last 22 after a first-inning groundout on Tuesday. The .290 career hitter’s batting average was down to .230.
Coming into that game, there were questions to manager Dave Roberts about whether Betts should be moved down in the order.
Roberts was firm that Betts was the best option at the №2 spot.
Since that first-inning groundout, he is 6-for-11 with three extra-base hits, five runs scored and a walk.
Roberts found something refreshing in Betts’ approach.
“That’s a good way to look at it — getting small wins and playing to win each night, contributing versus trying to chase a season where you’re not kind of realizing your career numbers,” Roberts said. “I think that is freeing, and that’s growth from him and maturity. But I do feel that’s the best way to kind of go about the last two months of the season.”
Betts’ production helped Kershaw achieve career win №218 — the same career win total as his counterpart Scherzer.
Kershaw struck out two batters in the first inning and retired all three batters that he faced. He dealt with traffic in each of the next five innings.
A cue shot double, with an exit velocity of 56.3 mph off the bat of Bo Bichette in the second inning, led to a Blue Jays run and a 1–0 lead for the team with the American League’s best record.
Kershaw, though, benefited from three double plays. He pointed to Betts’ turning a line drive into a double play in the second inning as a critical one.
He was a hair better than Scherzer:
· Kershaw: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 1 R (1 ER) 4 Ks
· Scherzer: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 R (2 ER), 5 Ks
And he appreciated the rarity of the matchup.
“It’s not lost on me. I think it’s really cool that Scherzer’s the guy right before me to get 3,000,” Kershaw said. “I got to play with him. I got to compete against him basically our whole careers. So I think it is really cool that we got to do this in (my) first year (in the 3,000 club). And I don’t know if it’s our last year, but toward the end for sure. So it’s been a fun ride getting to watch him and (Justin) Verlander, get to compete against him. That was a lot of fun.”
Kershaw’s season ERA is down to 3.14.
Betts gets the best of 3K Scherzer to lift 3K Kershaw and the Dodgers was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.