It has been almost 17 years since Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer first locked horns on the mound. The first time the pair met was on Sept. 7, 2008, when Kershaw's LA Dodgers hosted Scherzer's Arizona Diamondbacks. Interestingly enough, the then-rookies were fill-in starters for what should have been a matchup between two of the game's greatest hurlers in Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson.Fast forward to today, and both Kershaw and Scherzer have found themselves as a part of the trio (with Justin Verlander) that defined this generation of pitchers. In just the second-ever regular season battle (four in total) between the two on Friday night, it was the Dodgers' curveball connoisseur in a showdown against "Mad Max."After the game, Kershaw shared his thoughts about his duel with Scherzer and being in the same category as him."Pitching against Scherzer, you know that you're going to have a battle on your hands," Kershaw said. "He threw the ball really well tonight. The ball's coming out really well, and the guys are saying that his fastball still has a lot of jump to it."Clayton Kershaw also acknowledged his latest accomplishment by becoming the most recent member and just the 20th player in league history to enter the 3,000 strikeouts club. In addition, the lefty noted the same accolade that Scherzer reached, as it was the Blue Jays pitcher who achieved the feat just before him."It's not lost on me, and I think it's really cool that Scherzer was the guy right before me to get to 3,000 (strikeouts), and I got to play with him and compete against him basically our whole careers," Kershaw said (0:28-0:54). "I think it's really cool that we got to do this in our first year, and I don't know if it's our last year, but towards the end for sure. So it's been a fun ride getting to watch him and (Justin) Verlander."Both Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer made their MLB debut in 2008. Since then, they have amassed more than 3,000 punch-outs and three Cy Youngs apiece. With the feats they've accomplished throughout their storied careers, it's expected that both will be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day.Clayton Kershaw outduels Max Scherzer in battle of future Hall of FamersLong-time Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw managed to outgun Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer in a battle of the best hurlers of this era on Friday. Kershaw pitched six innings of one-run ball on seven base hits, one walk and four strikeouts.Scherzer, meanwhile, surrendered two runs on six base hits with three walks and five punchouts in the same amount of innings as Kershaw. The major difference during Friday's game was the run support, as the Dodgers managed to get five over the 68-win Blue Jays squad and end the score at 5-1.After the game, the legends posed for a photo and swapped signed jerseys.