Things didn’t go exactly as planned for Max Scherzer in Sunday’s win over the Milwaukee Brewers, from a results or health standpoint.
The veteran right-hander failed to complete five innings for the first time since early July, dealing with a tough Brewers lineup and what Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider called upper back tightness after the game.
“Obviously, I want to let Max go as deep as he can go, especially given the workload of our bullpen,” Schneider said. “Just trying to manage it. It’s not like a sharp pain, it was kind of a dull pain. It was affecting the way he was pitching a little bit.
“So, looking forward, you want to nip that.”
Scherzer ultimately tossed 67 pitches over 4.0 innings of work, allowing nine hits, four runs and two homers. He didn’t issue any walks and struck out one for the afternoon.
The 41-year-old was replaced by Brendon Little in the fifth, who cost himself with a pair of defensive mistakes before Tommy Nance entered to escape a jam.
After the game, Scherzer backed the decision made by the Blue Jays’ bench boss to take him off the mound.
“(Schneider) made the right move to pull me in that situation,” the three-time Cy Young winner told reporters. “It was just something I had to deal with. I wasn’t the guy today, but the rest of the team picked me up. That’s the great news here.”
Scherzer entered play Sunday with a 2.61 ERA and 22 strikeouts over five August starts, pitching into the sixth inning or deeper every time out.
After signing a one-year deal with the Blue Jays in the off-season, Scherzer’s Toronto tenure got off to a rocky start, with the 18-year veteran nearly missing three months with a thumb issue. Since his return in late June, however, Scherzer has stabilized the Blue Jays’ rotation, pitching to a 3.71 ERA over 11 starts entering Sunday.
Injuries bogged down his 2024 campaign, as well, limiting him to just 43.1 innings for the Texas Rangers. His four-inning outing on Sunday brought him to 70 on the season at the big-league level for Toronto.
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