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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw celebrates after striking out Washington Nationals’ Jordy Mercer to end the top of the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Zach McKinstry #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers breaks his bat while hitting a foul ball against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Dodger Stadium on April 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts during the second inning against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on April 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Dodger Stadium on April 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the second inning at Dodger Stadium on April 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals makes a catch for the third out during the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on April 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Corey Seager #5 of the Los Angeles Dodgers runs to second base after hitting a double against the Washington Nationals during the at Dodger Stadium on April 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Fans in the stands look on during the sixth inning of a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on April 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner can’t reach a ball hit for a single by Washington Nationals’ Andrew Stevenson during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner can’t reach a ball hit for a single by Washington Nationals’ Andrew Stevenson during the eighth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Zach McKinstry celebrates after hitting an RBI double during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Washington Nationals center fielder Victor Robles tries to field a ball hit for an RBI double by Los Angeles Dodgers’ Zach McKinstry as fans watch during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Washington Nationals’ Trea Turner, left, is forced out at second as Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Gavin Lux attempts to throw out Juan Soto at first during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. Soto was safe at first on the play. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Zach McKinstry celebrates after hitting an RBI double as the ball is thrown back in during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw celebrates after striking out Washington Nationals’ Jordy Mercer to end the top of the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes, left, starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, second from left, and third baseman Justin Turner, right, watch along with home plate umpire Adrian Johnson as a ball hit by Washington Nationals’ Trea Turner rolls along the line and stays inbounds for a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game Sunday, April 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer are grizzled veterans, two of only 10 pitchers in baseball history with three or more Cy Young awards and certain to be Hall of Famers.
Zach McKinstry looks like he delivers their newspaper.
But it was McKinstry who played the starring role Sunday afternoon, driving in all three runs in a 3-0 Dodgers victory over the Washington Nationals.
McKinstry drove in one run with a sun-aided double off Scherzer then hit a two-run home run off Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey.
With Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger both out injured, the rookie utilityman has started seven games. In 28 at-bats, McKinstry has four doubles and two home runs and leads the Dodgers with 10 RBI.
“He’s a baseball player, man. I just think that’s the best compliment you can give somebody that plays our game. He really is,” Kershaw said of McKinstry, a 33rd-round draft pick (a round that no longer exists) out of Central Michigan. “He has a great feel for the game, can play multiple positions, has a great arm. He’s like the left-handed Kike’ (Hernandez), doing things that Kike’ used to do.
“He’s filled in with Belli and Mookie being out, having to play every day. He’s done such a great job. He’s got some thump to him. He can really hit.”
McKinstry certainly believed all of those things about himself all along. But “you don’t really know until you get there,” he admitted Sunday.
“Once you get there, the nerves are always going to be there,” he said. “You have to find a way to cope with those and just try to win a game. Don’t try to make it too big. Never make a moment too big and kind of play the same game you’ve been playing your whole life.”
When he got to the park Sunday, McKinstry didn’t really know how big this moment was going to be — he thought Dustin May was starting for the Dodgers. McKinstry hadn’t heard about Kershaw moving up to take May’s start against Scherzer.
“That’s my fault,” McKinstry said. “But I knew Max was going for them. I knew I had to bring my ‘A’ game. See a few pitches in that first at-bat, try to work a count. Just try to battle with one of the game’s best right now.”
Kershaw’s ‘A’ game has returned since his reunion with his slider after a loss on Opening Day. He allowed five hits while striking out six in his six innings.
“The stuff was good,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought the curveball second pitch of the game was really good. I thought the fastball had life, using it to all quadrants. And the slider was good. I think that with Clayton when the slider is good, he’s getting swing and miss, you know he’s going to pitch well and that’s what he did today.”
After going 4 for 8 with a pair of home runs in the first two games of the series, Soto was hitless in three at-bats against Kershaw Sunday, coming up with a runner on base each time, and Blake Treinen got him to fly out with two runners on in the eighth inning.
Scherzer held up his end in the matchup of future Hall of Famers. He allowed just three hits in his six innings and retired 10 in a row at one point, half on strikeouts.
But in the second inning, he gave up a leadoff single to Max Muncy. After two fly outs, McKinstry lofted another one into the sky over left center field. Center fielder Victor Robles tracked it back to the warning track but was struggling to find it in the sun. The ball landed behind him at the base of the outfield wall and McKinstry had a two-out RBI double.
“It was tough. High sky. Hard to see the ball off the bat with the yellow and the baby blue seats behind home plate,” said McKinstry who started the day in left field and finished it in right.
Rainey replaced Scherzer in the seventh and McKinstry turned on a 2-and-1 fastball from him, driving it into the right field pavilion. All three of McKinstry’s RBI Sunday came with two outs.
“It was a fastball. Just trying to get on top of it because he’s got good ride on his fastball,” McKinstry said, adding that the scouting report had him looking for something hard. “Either it’s a fastball or a slider. You’ve just got to beat it to its spot. I did, I guess.”
Corey Knebel made the 1-0 lead stand up with a 1-2-3 seventh. Treinen took over in the eighth with a three-run cushion. He gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning then struck out Turner, got Soto to fly out and threw out Ryan Zimmerman on a dribbler near the mound.
But the most eye-opening part of the day was saved for the ninth inning.
Pitching for the first time since his blown save on Wednesday in Oakland, Kenley Jansen closed it out emphatically in the ninth, ditching “California Love” for another 2Pac song as his walkout music then striking out two and hitting 95 mph on the stadium radar gun.
“Kenley today was something,” Kershaw said. “I haven’t seen that … that was awesome.”
Roberts credited Jansen for putting in the work with the Dodgers’ coaching staff (pitching and performance) and agreed it was a better version of Jansen than he had seen in awhile.
“It was clearly his best outing of the year,” Roberts said. “The command, the stuff was really good. Pitching to the top part of the zone, getting ahead of guys, getting the swing and miss — really dominant outing.”
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