Dodgers think they’re in good hands with a mad Max Scherzer

LOS ANGELES –Trea Turner has the scouting study connected Max Scherzer up of Wednesday’s wild-card crippled against the St. Louis Cardinals.

“He’s already angry,” Turner said Sunday.

A teammate successful Washington and present Los Angeles for parts of 7 seasons, Turner knows what a huffy Max Scherzer is susceptible of doing successful the postseason. During the Nationals’ tally from wild-card introduction to World Series champion successful 2019, Scherzer made 5 starts and 1 alleviation quality for the Nationals, posting a 2.40 ERA implicit 30 postseason innings and holding opposing batters to a .193 batting average. The Nationals won each six games successful which Scherzer pitched.

“We consciousness precise bully with Max taking the mound,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

That religion is unshaken by Scherzer’s last 2 regular-season starts, his worst since joining the Dodgers. After being utterly ascendant successful his archetypal 9 starts for the Dodgers (a 0.78 ERA and .150 batting mean allowed) — a agelong that could onshore Scherzer his 4th Cy Young Award — Scherzer gave up 11 runs connected 17 hits (including 3 location runs) successful 10 1/3 innings against the Rockies and Padres — a agelong that could outgo Scherzer his 4th Cy Young Award.

“Just command. His transportation felt a small disconnected to him,” Dodgers president of shot operations Andrew Friedman said of the two-start stumble. “It’s worldly that helium and Mark (Prior, pitching coach) and Connor (McGuinness, adjunct pitching coach) I cognize volition robust out. He’ll beryllium successful a bully spot.”

The Dodgers person learned 1 happening astir Scherzer implicit the past 2 months — helium works to enactment himself successful that “good spot.”

“No. 1 it’s the preparation. He turns implicit each chromatic and he’s wholly prepared for a game,” Roberts said of the crushed for Scherzer’s success. “When I accidental that, it’s knowing precisely however he’s going to onslaught each hitter, wherever the outs are successful the lineup, however he’s going to navigate it, wherever the defence is astatine — that’s infielders and outfielders. I deliberation the absorption and the quality to absorption connected 110 pitches successful a crippled is precise difficult. So everything helium does is for a purpose. The small things substance to him.

“You look astatine the endowment and the backmost of the shot paper and what he’s done — I deliberation that’s an casual mode to look astatine it. But erstwhile you peel backmost a mates layers, the details substance to him.”

They much than substance to him, Scherzer said. He makes it dependable similar that portion of the process is much rewarding to him than the results connected crippled day.

“It’s everything. Everything matters. Every small happening it takes to beryllium a pitcher, I emotion it,” helium said during his nine-start, 0.78-ERA run. “The different 4 days, the preparation, what you person to bash to enactment astatine it. I emotion the grind of it. I emotion the grind of (you) support stepping connected everything, support uncovering caller ways to get better, find caller ways to execute pitches, find ways wherever pitches you mightiness deliberation play up and past execute. When you tin spell retired determination and execute and enactment with your catchers, that’s what makes it fun.

“I don’t get caught up successful results. It’s process. It’s executing pitches. It’s having each azygous transportation and going retired determination with a program and knowing what you privation to bash with it. Is getting results great? Yes, it is. But astatine the aforesaid time, astatine immoderate 1 infinitesimal successful clip the results tin flip connected you. … It’s large to spell retired determination and propulsion shutout innings. But it’s much important to conscionable spell retired determination with blinders up and absorption connected what you tin control. That’s conscionable controlling your executions, controlling your pitches and making definite you’re accordant from commencement to start. That’s however I think. That’s however I unrecorded and the results are what they are.”

Separating yourself mentally from the results is “so hard to bash — but perfectly the close mindset if you tin execute it,” Friedman said. Now that he’s seen Scherzer up close, Friedman said helium has a greater appreciation for the intelligence broadside of the aboriginal Hall of Famer’s game.

“Obviously we had a batch of appreciation for him from afar. But to get a accidental to ticker it up adjacent has been incredible,” Friedman said. “Watching the mode helium prepares betwixt starts — evidently however helium competes connected the mound is thing we appreciated. But each that goes into that is thing we didn’t person afloat appreciation for. He is 1 of the fewer elite competitors I’ve been astir that ne'er complains astir thing that’s retired of his control. Never seen him kick astir an umpire’s call. Never seen him kick astir a shift. Anything and everything that is retired of his control, that is extracurricular of him competing vs. the hitter, is thing I’ve ne'er seen him expend immoderate vigor on.

“If you tin execute it, that is perfectly the close mindset. It’s conscionable incredibly hard to bash … (because) the appraisal of your show is 100 percent based connected the result.”

Indeed. Nothing but results substance successful the postseason. And the Dodgers’ second-place decorativeness has enactment them successful the presumption of starting the postseason with an elimination game.

“I don’t cognize astir scary. It’s fun,” Turner said. “It’s a Game 7.

“We’ve got a accidental to triumph a ringing and that’s each that matters.”

ALSO

Trea Turner was named the National League Player of the Week for the last week of the regular season. Turner went 11 for 24 (.458) implicit the last week with 3 location runs (including 2 expansive slams), 8 runs scored and 11 driven successful arsenic helium closed retired the 2021 batting rubric with a .328 average. Turner is the archetypal Dodger to pb the majors successful batting mean and stolen bases (32) since Jackie Robinson successful 1949.