WASHINGTON – George Springer and Max Scherzer clashed six times during the 2019 World Series – the then-Houston Astros star walking three times; the then-Washington Nationals ace getting two flyouts and a strikeout – and the memories are still fresh.
“I mean, he was throwing 99,” Springer recalled. “He had a knack for doing the opposite of what you were thinking he would do. That's why he is who he is. He was very meticulous with what he did. I believe he said he would rather throw Ball 4 in the dirt than give up a hit, so he was trying to manoeuvre the strike zone a little bit. And here we are today.”
Here is Nationals Park, where the former rivals returned for the first time as Toronto Blue Jays teammates Monday, seven years removed from that Fall Classic won in seven games by the Nationals. Last year, of course, they teamed up to help bring the Blue Jays within inches of a title, while the club’s plans for a return engagement this season have gone badly awry, leaving what comes next for the veteran duo up in the air.
They are in control of their fates with no-trade protection – Springer as a player with 10 years of service time, five with the same team; Scherzer through a clause in his contract – and neither cares to speculate about what might happen before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
“I'm here and I'm going to be here and be in the moment – you can't let anything that's X amount of days away affect that,” said Springer. “I play for the Toronto Blue Jays. I love this team and I always have. …
“I believe in this team,” he added. “I believe in the guys in the locker-room and I know that we're going to fight. So we’ll cross that (deadline) bridge when we get to it. But I believe in the guys in that locker-room.”
A 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game set versus the Nationals was the type of effort Blue Jays players continue to believe they can produce on a more regular basis.
Scherzer, reinstated from the injured list before the game on his 42nd birthday, worked around four hits and three walks to allow only one run in 2.2 innings, while greeted by standing ovations before and after his outing. Six relievers, including Louis Varland in the ninth, took it from there, making a Luis Urias homer and Ernie Clement RBI double in the third, and a Myles Straw RBI single in the fourth stand up.
Their difficulties in maintaining success over an extended period explain why the Blue Jays are 49-58 and facing a subtraction deadline in which all their players on expiring contracts, Scherzer and Springer included, are being watched by other clubs.
Scherzer has made several other returns to Washington since the Nationals traded him and Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 30, 2021 for a package that includes Keibert Ruiz, who went 0-for-4 catching Monday.
But how many more visits he makes is uncertain, which is why fans feted him as he took the mound, the Blue Jays giving him time to run out alone so the crowd could acknowledge him, and waved to the stands on his way off the field.
Scherzer struck out four and is now at 3,507 for his career, creeping within range of Walter Johnson’s 3,515 for 10th all-time.
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