Prior to that start, his season totals included a 2.12 ERA, 143 strikeouts, and two complete game shutouts. This was the 13th time that the 27th and presumably final batter disrupted a perfect game in progress. However, he did not sign, and instead attended the University of Missouri in Columbia. In his first 98 starts with the Nationals from 2015–17, Scherzer accumulated the most innings, strikeouts, and pitching WAR. By his own account, along with that of his catcher, Martin Maldonado, Cole's fastball was leaking toward the middle of the plate at times, and Washington's hitters took advantage, such as high-ball hitter Juan Soto. [58], The 100th win of Scherzer's career occurred on June 26 in a 5–2 victory versus the Philadelphia Phillies, where he allowed both runs over eight innings. [72] It was also Scherzer's first career victory versus Detroit, positing him as the 17th hurler to earn a win against all 30 MLB teams. Although he struggled in both starts, leaving multiple men on base in most innings, his team won both games, giving the Nationals the clinching victory to win the World Series over the Astros. Scherzer became the second Tigers pitcher to reach 20 wins since Bill Gullickson in 1991, following Verlander in 2011, and the 45th in Tigers history. Scherzer participated in the 2008 Arizona Fall League season as member of the Phoenix Desert Dogs. Reblog. Could Mike Trout outproduce a tanking team's entire lineup? Scherzer had struck out 11 and allowed one walk to that point in the contest. The previous record was 12 set in 1962 by the Los Angeles Dodgers' Pete Richert. Meanwhile, Garza opportunely secured the no-hitter in a 5–0 Tampa win. He has seven tonight through 5 1/3 innings. Of 119 total pitches discharged, 96 were for strikes; Scherzer did not deliver more than 16 in any inning. According to Nationals manager Dave Martinez, Scherzer differentiated himself from other major league pitchers because of his focus on hitting in addition to the work on his pitching. A seven-time MLB All-Star, he is the fifth pitcher to start an All-Star Game for both the American and National Leagues. [30] He finished the regular season at 21–3, with a league-leading 0.97 WHIP, 2.90 ERA, and a career-high 240 strikeouts. "This being the largest stage that we can get on, certainly with the opponent being so well prepared, [we] anticipate having to respond to some things tomorrow. Award-winner Justin Verlander to front the Tigers' starting rotation for five seasons. [138] He primarily uses a fastball-slider combination against right-handed hitters and a fastball-changeup-cutter combination against left-handed hitters. That description was nearly precise; however, in the June 14 contest versus Milwaukee, Scherzer also issued a bases on ball to Scooter Gennett after allowing Gómez' single—leaving Scherzer four batters short of three perfect games. [78] Nonetheless, he avoided spending any time on the disabled list to start the season. Just seeing the way he goes about things. No other pair of starting pitchers had ever taken no-hitters into the sixth inning against the same team in consecutive postseason games. It was his seventh straight game from the start of the season with at least seven strikeouts, establishing a Detroit Tigers franchise record. That kind of game is what we thought we might see more than once in this World Series matchup. [90], End of season awards for Scherzer included selection as a starting pitcher on Baseball America's All-MLB Team. [125], Over 27 total starts and ​172 1⁄3 IP, Scherzer concluded 2019 with an 11–7 record, 2.92 ERA, 144 hits allowed, 1.027 WHIP, and 243 strikeouts. "I think we turned it around, and now we've outplayed them for a couple of games. [99] [45] His 18 wins tied for the AL lead along with Corey Kluber and Jered Weaver. [98] He earned the NL Pitcher of the Month Award in April while leading the league in strikeouts (57) and wins (4), and ranking fourth in each of ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.82) and opposing batting average (.165). As of August 6, 2018, his batting average as a pitcher (.283) on the season was second-best at his position in the National League to Germán Márquez (.350).