The 2020 MLB season will open on July 23 and there will be 2 games. The reigning champion Washington Nationals will host the New York Yankees. 3-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer will be the Nationals’ opening day starter and Gerrit Cole, who inked a historic deal in the off-season, will start his first game for the Yankees. Going to the west, one of the great rivalries in sports, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants will start the season in the Dodger stadium. Former MVP Clayton Kershaw will make his 9th start on the opening day, against Giants’ Johnny Cueto. Other teams will play their first games on July 24.
All these four pitchers started in the season opener before. But, it’s the first time that they will pitch on the opening day in the summer. July 23, looking back at their performance on this day. Did they pitch well?
Clayton Kershaw made 2 starts on July 23. One was in 2015, he tossed a shutout with 11 strikeouts in the Citi Field. He also hit a single. The Mets lineup had no ideas against him, collecting only 3 hits. The other time that Kershaw started on July 23 was in 2017, Kershaw left after 2 innings because of the right back tightness. The Dodgers won the game against the Atlanta Braves by Logan Forsythe’s walk-off single. In these 2 starts, Kershaw did not allow any runs and struck out 13 times in 11 innings.
Johnny Cueto pitched on July 23 once. The Giants visited the New York Yankees in 2016. Cueto tossed 6 innings, allowing 6 hits and only 1 unearned run. Meanwhile, he struck out 9 times.
Max Scherzer also pitched on July 23 once. The Nationals hosted the Padres in 2016. Scherzer threw 99 pitches to complete a 7-inning job. He struck out 10 times and did not give up any walks. Ryan Schimpf went deep against Scherzer on the top of the second inning and it was a 2-run homer. But, Scherzer only allowed 4 hits in this game.
Yankee fans must be super excited to see Gerrit Cole on the mound. Cole did pitch against the Nationals on July 23. It was in 2013 when Cole was still a rookie. The game was Cole’s 8th start in his career. He threw 7 innings with 4 strikeouts. He gave up only 1 walk and 2 hits, one hit was a solo shot by Wilson Ramos.
All these four pitchers are great and they didn’t take a loss as a starter on July 23. Fans should be very excited to watch baseball games and see these great pitchers on the mound. These 2 games will be really significant because the games tell us that baseball is finally back and a very intense season begins. Gerrit Cole started 33 games last season, however, these 4 pitchers will probably start only 10 to 12 times this season. Each start will be more significant to themselves and their teams. July 23, a big day for baseball and a new start to compete for the title.
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