TORONTO — A quick Max Scherzer story, courtesy of Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider:
Back in spring training, the veteran right-hander was talking to Schneider about the Boston Red Sox lineup and proceeded to go down the order, listing exactly how he would attack each hitter. This wasn't just anecdotal, though. Scherzer backed up his thoughts with an array of numbers.
Schneider wondered if Scherzer had actually memorized those stats and so he looked it up himself.
"He was right," Schneider recalled with a grin. "He's really, really prepared."
Just another cool page to add to the book on the future Hall-of-Famer.
Scherzer carries his own binder and conducts extensive research — “He knows exactly what every hitter's slugging percentage is in a certain spot on a certain velo in a certain count,” says Schneider — and that’s among the ways the 41-year-old has impressed teammates and coaches all season.
On Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, Scherzer also impressed them on the mound as he authored arguably his finest start in a Blue Jays uniform to lift the club to a 4-2 win over the Royals in front of 41,842 at Rogers Centre.
Scherzer was in control for most of his six innings, but when he ran into trouble in the third, it offered a closer look at his preparation and how it can manifest in a game.
The right-hander allowed a double to No. 9 hitter Kyle Isbel, who promptly stole third base. Scherzer then hit the next batter, Jonathan India, to bring Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. to the plate in a key situation during a scoreless game.
The Blue Jays’ right-hander challenged Witt Jr. with two straight fastballs before getting him to foul a slider into the glove of catcher Tyler Heineman. Scherzer then broke out his curveball — a pitch he’d only used twice to that point — on a 1-1 count to Vinnie Pasquantino that induced a weak fly ball to right field that ended the threat.
It was the same pitch, in an almost identical spot, that Scherzer used to get Pasquantino to fly out to centre in the first inning.
“Those are great hitters, you're in a tough spot there,” Scherzer said. “I was able to get to an 0-2 count on Bobby and execute a slider out of the zone. And then, with Vinny, was able to get a fastball up, foul ball, went wide with a changeup — I didn't like that pitch — but then came back and executed a good curveball.
“We stayed out of his damage zone and was able to get a big out in that situation and keep that run from scoring.”
Scherzer’s veteran savvy was tested in the next inning, too.
Heineman was hit in the mask by a John Rave foul ball in the third inning and removed from the contest the next inning due to a head contusion (Schneider said Heineman wasn’t showing concussion symptoms and will be reevaluated Sunday). That prompted backup catcher Ali Sanchez to enter the game, and before he took the field, Scherzer had a meeting with Sanchez and pitching coach Pete Walker in the tunnel behind the Blue Jays’ dugout.
“Max was very adamant about what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it,” said Schneider. “So between him, Pete and Sanchez, was a really cool interaction. That kind of gets swept under the rug a little bit because, I always say, ‘When you don't notice the catcher, you're doing a good thing.’ And [Sanchez] came in and just picked up where Heineman left off.”
Scherzer said a similar situation occurred while he was pitching for the Washington Nationals. Catcher Yan Gomes was replaced by Kurt Suzuki, a move that forced the right-hander to pivot on the spot.
“Kurt called a great game and, all of a sudden, we got on the same page and really caught rhythm and won the ball game,” recalled Scherzer. “And so, in the back of my head, I was just going through that, like, hey, we're going to win this ballgame. [Sanchez is] going to come in and he's going to call a good game and we're going to win the ball game.”
That affirmation became a reality, and the only blip on Scherzer’s line was a solo home run he surrendered to Salvador Perez in the sixth. In total, the right-hander allowed just the one run on five hits over six innings, walking none and striking out five. He tossed 84 pitches and featured a fastball that maxed out at 95.4 m.p.h. while sitting at 93.6 m.p.h.
Scherzer didn’t come out for the seventh inning because he began to feel fatigue in his right hand, a recurring issue that sidelined him for nearly three months this season.
“This is never going to go away,” said Scherzer. “It's just something I've got to manage. And right now, I'm managing pretty well. Unfortunately got a little tired today there in the sixth. I had the pitch count to at least go back out there for the seventh, but I wasn't in a position to do so. It's just something I got to stay on top of, keep doing all the exercises for, and just managing as best I can.”
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays’ offence provided just enough support to help Scherzer collect win No. 218 and got to Royals’ starter Noah Cameron by playing small ball in the third inning.
Myles Straw opened the frame by reaching base with a perfect push bunt to second and here’s what followed: Heineman hit by pitch, Joey Loperfido sacrifice bunt, Davis Schneider RBI single to cash in two runs, and, after advancing to second on an error by the right fielder and then stealing third, Schneider scored later in the inning on Bo Bichette’s hard single to right.
“We did some good things offensively [and] got back to grinding out some at-bats, some timely hits,” said John Schneider. “Nice to get back to playing our brand of baseball.”
Added Davis Schneider. “We just have multiple ways to win baseball games. I don't think there's one certain way but we scratch and claw to find ways to win. I feel like every single day or every single win, we always had a different way.”
The path to victory on Saturday began with Scherzer, and if you factor in his previous start — a seven-inning, three-run, 11-strikeout performance against the Tigers — this is the Max Scherzer the Blue Jays hoped they’d see when they signed him to a one-year, $15.5-million deal in the off-season.
It’s quite a tantalizing sign.
“His stuff is back to where it should be,” said John Schneider. “So, he can be a difference maker down the stretch. It's been trending in the right direction for a while, and back-to-back good starts is really good for us.”
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