Inside Max Scherzer’s epic Blue Jays post-season debut

SEATTLE — As soon as Max Scherzer's walk ended Thursday night, his teammate Shane Bieber approached him on the Toronto Blue Jays bench.

“Thank you,” Bieber told Scherzer.

“For what?” Scherzer responded.

“Man, that was painful to watch,” Bieber responded. “It was really cool.”

Bieber was in 8th grade when Scherzer made his major debut in 2008, and spent many nights throughout his teenage years and beyond watching Scherzer build his Hall of Fame resume.

The 41-year-old right-hander added another item to his resume with his work in an 8-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday that knotted the American League Championship Series at two games apiece.

The theatrics, growls, crazy looks and the infamous visit to the mound all contributed to a Game 4 performance that will be talked about for years to come. It's a true classic in franchise history, and in the hours that followed, it seemed like everyone in the Blue Jays clubhouse was eager to discuss what they had just witnessed.

“This is the Max Scherzer story,” Bieber said. “And I’m just truly grateful that I was able to experience that first-hand.”

Here's an inside look at what those on the field watched Thursday night at T-Mobile Park, in their own words.

Scherzer struggled from the start, walking two batters in the first inning and giving up a single to Josh Naylor in the second frame. However, after that the right-hander calmed down and began to return to his vintage form.

PETE WALKER, pitching coach: During our pitcher-catcher meeting, you could tell he was locked in, and then in the bullpen, probably as good things as I've seen from him all year. So, I knew he was doing great. The fastball was coming out, the swings were sharp, he was chasing the ball and you could see the look in his eyes – I knew he was on his game.

JOHN SCHNEIDER, manager: Honestly, I thought he got better as the game went on. And Naylor's replacement, he had some really good stuff and I think it was too difficult a replacement.

CHRIS BASSITT, pitcher: Obviously you don't have a good inning early in the game. How do you respond to this? I would say this is my favorite part. You get beaten by a really good team and it doesn't really bother you.

WALKER: This was important to him for many reasons. He wanted this very much. Throughout the game, inning after inning, we communicate constantly. He communicates excessively while playing. We always talk about the strikers and talk about how he's doing, how he's feeling. He was as withdrawn as I had ever seen him in the short time we were together.

ERNIE CLEMENT, third baseman: I never saw him in the dugout. We stay away from him. He's terrible during the game, so let him do his thing.

ISAIAH KEENER-FALEFA, second baseman: I always get nervous for Max when he pitches. I was told not to touch him, not to talk to him.

DOLTON VARSHO, center back: It's like he's on a mission. He doesn't want to give high fives on the bench.

The Blue Jays led 5-1 in the fifth inning, and with two outs remaining and Seattle top of the standings, Schneider ran to the mound to talk to Scherzer. The visit lasted only a few seconds as the fired-up right-hander screamed at the coach, letting Schneider know he wanted to end the inning.

SCHNEIDER: I thought he was going to kill me. That was great.

MAX SCHERZER, starter: I was going over it in my head. I knew what the state of the game was, I knew how I wanted to attack, and then all of a sudden I saw Schneid come out and I thought, “Woah, woah, woah.” Like, I’m not leaving this ball game. I feel too good.

SCHNEIDER: When I came out, he looked into my eyes, both colors. It's not fake. Here's the thing. He has a Mad Max look to him, but tonight he proved it. The infielders had a laugh there too.

CLEMENT: I was a little late to the party and just laughed. I walked up, turned around and returned to my position.

ANDRES JIMENEZ, friend: If you watch the video, I didn’t even come close to the mound. I saw Max's reaction and thought, “I better stay here.”

BASSITT: Same old Max. Crazy.

SCHERZER: We had a little conversation about how, essentially, I would like to continue playing with the ball, but with some different words. I just knew I was strong, I knew I wanted the ball, I knew I could get out of this situation. I just wanted to stay home. I wanted this.

SCHNEIDER: The conversation began with the words: “I’m fine.” And I said, “Are you sure?” You can probably read lips, but I ordered him to be executed. “I leave you to be executed,” and so he did.

SHANE BIEBER, pitcher: He got on him pretty well when Schneides came out of there. I had a feeling he wasn't going to quit the game.

JEFF HOFFMAN, closer: Schneids usually scores pretty early, and when he didn't show early, I thought, “Oh, he's giving Max a chance to fight for himself,” and I like that. You do it to guys who deserve it, and he obviously deserved everything he got in this game. I'm glad they stuck with him.

ERIC LAUER, pitcher: This is just Max to the fullest. I mean, he won't quit the game until he's ready to quit the game, and he's never ready to quit the game. He's just such a dog.

CLEMENT: I've been waiting all year because you see it on TV. I've seen it the last 15 years of his pitching, where the manager comes out and he refuses to leave the mound.

JOEY LOPERFIDO, outfielder: This came as a surprise to no one. I mean growl, he was foaming at the mouth.

SCHNEIDER: I've been waiting all year for Max to yell at me on the mound. I think at this stage there are numbers, there are forecasts, there is a strategy and there are people. So, I trusted people. I think at this point you kind of relive every conversation I had with him throughout the year and I trusted him to make presentations.

WALKER: The competitive fire he shows in these moments is something we haven't really seen. This was our first look at it, so to speak. I don't think it was unexpected. We kind of knew what was going to happen. And honestly, it was nice to see it. This just shows you where he is and what he still has in stock to contribute for the rest of this postseason.

SCHNEIDER: I joked with him that I had been waiting for this moment since our Zoom call in the offseason before we signed him. I really liked it.

Scherzer struck out Randy Arozarena on four pitches after an eventful visit to the mound. He rushed off the mound with a level of intensity that was simply different than anything he had shown in a Blue Jays uniform. Scherzer then returned for the sixth inning and got Cal Raleigh to fly out to right field before knocking out Julio Rodriguez. The right-hander pitched to his final batter, Jorge Polanco, and was replaced by pitcher Mason Fluharty, who allowed the inherited runner to score. Scherzer's final line was that he allowed two runs on three hits over 5.2 innings, with four walks and five strikeouts.

BIEBER: What I liked most was that he In fact did it. Told Schneids everything he told Schneids. And then do it on four pitches and knock out Randy. But going back to the dugout and still not doing it. It was special.

WALKER: Today was one of those games where he knew we needed him to step up and he did.

BASSITT: This is the most important victory he has ever won with me. So this has to be number one [among Scherzer starts I’ve seen]. It is obvious that today it is almost mandatory to win. And for him to go out there and do what he did was special.

LAUER: I grew up watching this guy and now I'm on the same team with him, watching him do the same thing I've watched him do all these years. It's a really cool baseball moment to see a guy you've seen all these years achieve such success. He's a legend of the game, and then all of a sudden, he's doing it on the same team as me, and he's doing it for the team that I'm on. This is so great.

BIEBER: Obviously I'm a bigger fan than ever after meeting him. At the very beginning there were questions: how long would he last, how well would he cope. And looking back, it's no surprise to anyone that he performed the way he did today, because that's Max damn Scherzer.