Max Scherzer has 10 strikeouts in seven innings of the Dodgers' victory over the Astros. (1:27).LOS ANGELES -- Max Scherzer made his Dodgers debut with three strikeouts for Jose Altuve. The finale was a curtain call.In other words, it was exactly as advertised.On Wednesday night, Scherzer pitched seven innings in two-run ball against Houston Astros. He scattered five hits, issued one walk, and struck out 10 batters, while leading the Dodgers to victory of 7-5 against a team most fans hate.Scherzer pitched in front of a hostile, electric crowd at Dodger Stadium. He allowed Michael Brantley a home run in the first inning, but quickly settled down and retired the nine remaining batters. He started the seventh inning with 89 pitches, and walked Kyle Tucker. But he returned to retire Robel Garcia (and Jason Castro).His 109th pitch was an 86 mph fastball that passed Chas McCormick. It ended the half-inning and brought 52,274 people to their feet, asking for a curtain call. Scherzer did the right thing and stepped out of his third-base dugout waving.Scherzer, 37, got 10 swings and misses on a fastball that averaged 95.2 mph, his highest average fastball velocity of the season, and recorded the 102nd double-digit-strikeout game of his career, fifth most in major league history. His ERA stands at 2.75 through 118 innings for 2021.After Scherzer had left, Joe Kelly, who was in the thicket of this rivalry by throwing at Carlos Correa's head last year, gave Altuve his fourth strikeout. This delighted the Dodgers fans. This was the second game with four strikeouts in Altuve's 11-year history.In the ninth, Kenley Jansen, the Dodgers' closer, quickly reduced their deficit to half. The Astros scored two runs off Kyle Tucker without any outs. Jansen returned to retire Castro, Garcia and pinch-hitter Jake Meyers. The Dodgers won their 65th consecutive season. The four-game series between the Astros and Dodgers was split by Jansen, with the Dodgers winning by three runs.
