With the Blue Jays needing a win to tie the American League Championship Series against the Mariners at two games apiece, they turned to decorated right-hander Max Scherzer on Thursday night at T-Mobile Park. The 41-year-old took the mound for his 500th career start between the regular season and postseason.
Coming off a rough end to his regular season and not having pitched in a game in more than three weeks, Scherzer not only took the baseball, but he turned in a vintage “Mad Max” performance in an 8-2 win for Toronto.
Scherzer went 5 2/3 innings, yielding two runs and striking out five in the victory, which was his first playoff win in six years (Game 1 of the 2019 World Series with the Nationals).
Here are six things to know about Scherzer’s performance in ALCS Game 4.
When he took the mound in ALCS Game 4 on Thursday night, Scherzer made his first postseason start for the Blue Jays after appearing in the postseason for the Tigers, Nationals, Dodgers, Mets and Rangers. That made him the fifth player in MLB history to appear in the playoffs for six teams.
Scherzer also is the only player on that list to start a postseason game on the mound for six different teams. The only other pitcher in the six-postseason-teams club, David Wells, only pitched in relief for one of them (coincidentally, the Blue Jays).
Still winning, after all these years
Scherzer didn’t just simply toe the rubber as a 41-year-old, already a rare enough feat for a postseason starting pitcher. Scherzer became the fourth starting pitcher to win a postseason game at age 41 or older, joining Roger Clemens (five from 2003-05), Kenny Rogers (three in 2006) and Dennis Martinez (one in 1995).
At 41 years and 81 days old, Scherzer became the ninth-oldest starting pitcher to win a postseason game. The last pitcher as old as Scherzer with a postseason win was Rogers (41 years, 337 days) in Game 3 of the 2006 ALCS for the Tigers.
Scherzer is the second-oldest player to play in a postseason game for the Blue Jays. Only LaTroy Hawkins — who pitched in three games with Toronto as a 42-year-old in 2015 — was older. Scherzer (41 years, 81 days) is also the oldest player to pitch in a playoff game since Fernando Rodney (42 years, 222 days) in Game 4 of the 2019 World Series — Scherzer and Rodney were teammates on that 2019 Nationals squad.
When Scherzer exited the game with two outs in the sixth inning, the pitcher who relieved him was Mason Fluharty. The left-hander was just 10 years old when Scherzer made his postseason debut for the Tigers in Game 2 of the 2011 ALDS.
With a fellow Cy teammate
With Shane Bieber in Game 3 and Scherzer in Game 4, the Blue Jays have seen starting pitchers who are former Cy Young winners win in back-to-back games. This is just the ninth time a team has had former Cy Youngs starters win consecutive games in the postseason, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The last two instances were Justin Verlander and Dallas Keuchel for the Astros in 2017. Before that, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz in three in a row in 1997 for the Braves. Maddux and Glavine had four instances in 1993, ‘95 and ‘96. The first duo to do this was Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax in 1965.
From the jump, Scherzer came out throwing heat. His sixth pitch of the game was a 96.5 mph four-seam fastball to Cal Raleigh. That was Scherzer’s fastest pitch since June 24, 2023, when he threw a 96.6 mph fastball, pitching for the Mets against the Phillies.
In all, he averaged 94.2 mph on his fastball, which is tied for his highest average fastball velocity in a game this season.
Scherzer also generated six swings and misses on his curveball, which emerged as an unlikely weapon. Before Game 4, he had never generated more than five swings and misses on his curveball in a single game in his career. In total, Scherzer threw 10 curveballs, and Mariners hitters swung at all 10 of them. It’s only the second time that Scherzer has induced 10 swings against his curveball in a single game. The other instance? Also against the Mariners, back on June 1, 2014, when Scherzer was with the Tigers.
First pickoff … in nearly a decade
With one out in the bottom of the third inning, Scherzer whirled around and fired a pickoff attempt to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., nabbing Leo Rivas with the help of a video review. Not only was it Scherzer’s first successful pickoff in 31 career postseason appearances, but it was his first successful pickoff, period, in more than nine years.
The last time Scherzer pulled off the feat was Aug. 30, 2016, when he was pitching for the Nationals at Philadelphia and caught Freddy Galvis trying to go from second to third. And the last time before Thursday that he picked a runner off first base was more than 12 years ago, on Sept. 15, 2013. Scherzer was still with his second team, the Tigers, and caught the Royals’ Emilio Bonifacio at first.
For the Blue Jays, the last starting pitcher to be credited with a pickoff in the postseason was Jimmy Key against the Braves way back in Game 4 of the 1992 World Series.
This vintage Scherzer outing seemingly came out of nowhere. Over his final six starts of the regular season, Scherzer had a 9.00 ERA. That was a key reason why Scherzer was left off the ALDS roster against the Yankees. Scherzer’s last appearance before Thursday’s outing was on Sept. 24, when he allowed four runs in five innings against the Red Sox.
Prior to Game 4, Scherzer hadn’t lasted at least 5 2/3 innings in a start since Aug. 25, and he hadn’t done so while also allowing two runs or fewer since Aug. 19.
