Fans came to see two of the greatest pitchers of their era—Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson—face off in a rare September showdown in 2008. But when Johnson was sidelined with shoulder fatigue and Joe Torre opted not to start Maddux, the spotlight shifted to two rookies: Max Scherzer for Arizona and Clayton Kershaw for Los Angeles. At the time, they had a combined 3 career wins. What fans didn’t know was they were witnessing the very beginning of another legendary rivalry—between two pitchers destined for Cooperstown themselves. The game ended as a 5-3 Dodgers win, giving them a slim 1 and ½ game lead in the NL West.