Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer Swap Jerseys in Photo After Historic MLB Pitcher Matchup

Seventeen years after their first head-to-head matchup, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer met for perhaps the last time in their storied careers on Friday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1.

After the game, the two future Hall of Famers met on the field to swap jerseys.

Both pitchers performed well in the game. Kershaw got the win after allowing just one run on seven hits with four strikeouts in six innings. Kershaw held his own with three runs allowed, five strikeouts and three walks in six innings.

The first time Kershaw and Scherzer squared off in a game was during their rookie seasons on Sept. 7, 2008, when the Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks. Scherzer struck out 11 in five innings. Kershaw allowed three runs over four innings.

In the nearly two decades since that first encounter, Kershaw and Scherzer have built resumes that have made them arguably the two best pitchers of this era. They have combined for six Cy Young awards (three each) and 19 All-Star appearances.

Since the start of the 2008 season, Kershaw (77.8) and Scherzer (73.5) rank first and third in FanGraphs' wins above replacement among all pitchers. Verlander is sandwiched between them at 76.4 fWAR.

Per MLB.com's Andrew Simon, Friday's game marked just the fourth time since 1990 that two pitchers with 3,000 career strikeouts started against each other. The last time it happened was in 2023 when Scherzer dueled with Justin Verlander.

Kershaw and Scherzer briefly played together in 2021 after the Dodgers acquired Scherzer from the Washington Nationals prior to the trade deadline. He helped Los Angeles reach the NLCS before losing to the Atlanta Braves in six games.

There's a possibility Scherzer and Kershaw could pitch against each other one more time this season in the World Series. The Dodgers (67-49) currently lead the NL West by three games.

Toronto (68-49) has the best record in the AL, one game in front of the Houston Astros.