The Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres with their 4-0 win at Petco Park on Thursday, receiving another strong start from Max Scherzer.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner enjoyed his best outing since joining L.A. in last month’s blockbuster trade, allowing just two hits over 7.2 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts.
He has only made five starts for the Dodgers but Scherzer already appears to be settling in with his new organization. “It’s been great. The guys in here, this is a great clubhouse,” he said of the transition to the Dodgers.
“Having Trea with me as well, I really feel like the life change has been as seamless as possible. I feel like it’s been harder on my wife and kids than it has been on me. This has been a great team to join. We’ve been playing great baseball.
“Coming in day after day knowing if you just do your job, we have a great chance to win. That’s what you want as a player. We’re playing great baseball right now, but obviously we’re going to have to continue playing great baseball. We understand we’re in a playoff race and we’ve got to play our best baseball to finish the season.”
That Scherzer is fitting in so nicely with the Dodgers shouldn’t come as a surprise. He already had established friendships with several players before the trade, and his ultra-competitive demeanor makes him a perfect match for a clubhouse looking to defend its World Series title.
Also helping Scherzer’s seamless move to the Dodgers is the fact that Trea Turner joined him in the trade from the Washington Nationals. The two were teammates for parts of seven seasons in Washington and now are making a big impact with their new club.
Friedman: ‘added bonus’ keeping Scherzer away from Giants, Padres
Prior to being traded to the Dodgers, there were reports that suggested the Padres were closing in on a deal for Scherzer.
“We were pretty engaged at that point. It definitely spooked me for a second, but I feel like things would’ve been playing out differently if that were the case,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at the time.
“It definitely got my attention and my heart may have skipped a beat or two, but kind of quickly came back to where the conversations were, where it was trending and what was going on. That helped.”
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