Max Scherzer of the Los Angeles Dodgers has become the 19th player in major league history with 3,000 strikeouts. The 37-year-old right-hander struckout Eric Hosmer of the San Diego Padres in the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium to earn number 3,000, bringing the crowd to its feet to give the three-time Cy Young Award winner a standing ovation.
Scherzer came into the game needing six strikeouts to reach 3,000. He struckout Trent Grisham in the first inning, struck out the side on nine pitches in the second, and ended with strikouts of Fernando Tatis Jr., Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham, who all went down swinging. It took Scherzer 404 games to reach the mark, second fewest in history behind Hall of Famer Randy Johnson at 362 games. He’s also the first to reach 3,000 Ks in a Dodgers uniform. Scherzer is also 13 strikeouts from catching up to Houston’s Justin Verlander, who holds the most strikouts among active players. Verlander is missing the entire 2021 season following Tommy John surgery.
Scherzer currently holds a 13-4 record, and his 2.28 ERA was second in the National League behind Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes entering Sunday. He is on a nine-game winning streak and hasn’t lost a game since May 30 against Milwaukee.
