SEATTLE — This item may not have been vintage. Max ScherzerA three-time Cy Young Award winner and future Hall of Famer who once possessed one of the best fastballs in the game, the 41-year-old has amassed a wealth of pitching knowledge over 18 seasons and more than 3,000 innings in the majors.
Most importantly, Scherzer's vintage intensity remains unmatched.
Scherzer, making his first postseason start after a rough finish to the regular season, gave up two runs and three hits in 5⅔ innings to lead the batting order. Toronto Blue Jays To victory with a score of 8-2 over Seattle Mariners on Thursday night to even the American League Championship Series at two games each.
Scherzer's famous ferocity was on display in the fifth inning, when manager John Schneider came on for the visit with two outs and a runner on base after Scherzer called a hard hit to right field.
Scherzer shouted to his manager, “I’m fine! Let's go!”
Schneider quickly returned to the dugout for one of the shortest dugout visits in postseason history. Not to be confused with Mad Max.
Scherzer struck Randy Arozarena on a 79 mph curveball to end the inning and then got two outs in the sixth before finally leaving after a two-out walk and throwing 87 pitches.
At first, it seemed like Scherzer wouldn't last long. At the bottom of the first he walked Cal Raleigh with one exit and then went Julio Rodriguez at four sites. A couple of pitchers in Toronto's bullpen began stretching in case the inning got out of hand.
That was understandable given how Scherzer finished the regular season: He had a 9.00 ERA over his last six starts, giving up 25 runs and eight home runs in 25 innings. In his last start on September 24, he gave up 10 hits in five innings. In the start of the previous match, he was knocked out in the first inning in a 20-1 loss to the team. Kansas City Royals. He was not in the lineup for the AL Division Series against New York Yankeesas the Blue Jays instead loaded relievers and used a bullpen game in the deciding Game 4.
“I don't want to put too much emphasis on it,” Scherzer said Wednesday when asked about his health. “Look, you have hiccups all the time, you are sick all the time. I can't tell you how many times I've had something and I've gone out there and served well and won. So I don't want to sit here and step back and blame injuries on the way I pitched. When I take the mound, I take the mound, and I have the mentality, I'm going to win no matter what.”
Scherzer escaped the first inning Thursday when he called Jorge Polanco switch to a double game when changing bets 1-2 – doubling bets in a row with substitutions in a row. After the pitch, he walked to the plate, as he often does, embodying the emotions that have marked his career. Then he realized he had to let the judge check his glove.
He gave up a home run Josh Naylor in the second inning, but settled down from there, even throwing 45 fastballs to set up his various offspeed pitches (slider, curveball, changeup). With the victory, Scherzer became only the fourth starting pitcher age 41 or older to win a playoff game, joining Kenny Rogers, Roger Clemens and Dennis Martinez. It also ended a streak of five winless postseason starts dating back to the 2021 NLCS, a stretch in which he went 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA. He also became the first pitcher to reach the postseason for six different teams.
Scherzer once again got help from a potent Toronto offense — and perhaps from Mariners manager Dan Wilson's questionable quick hook in the starting lineup. Luis Castillo in the third inning. Jays scored Andres JimenezA two-run homer – in two straight games Jimenez, Toronto's No. 9 hitter, had hit an early home run – and the bases were loaded with one out when Wilson brought in Gabe Speierhis best lefty pitcher. But this move backfired when Speyer went Dalton Varsho and then George Springer added an RBI double in the fourth. Wilson entered Matt Brushanother one of his strong pitchers, but he uncorked a wild pitch as the Jays made it 5-2.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. added a home run to right-center in the seventh inning, his fifth of the postseason and 17th for the Blue Jays in eight postseason games.
By the ninth inning, many Mariners fans had left the stadium, leaving Blue Jays fans from Canada chanting, “Let's go, Blue Jays!”
