TORONTO — By allowing seven runs to the Cleveland Guardians Friday, Max Scherzer created an early deficit the Toronto Blue Jays wouldn’t be able to overcome.
But since this was the third time in his last four starts that Scherzer couldn’t escape the third inning, and since the Guardians made lots of hard contact against the 41-year-old, the performance also raised some questions about how Scherzer can turn things around.
"You get punched in the face, spit it out, wake back up and figure out what's wrong and fix it,” Scherzer said. “And we'll go back out there and compete.”
When Scherzer took the mound shortly after 7 p.m. ET Friday night, he was hoping to build on a strong start against the Diamondbacks in which he’d allowed just two runs in six innings. He also happened to be one strikeout away from becoming just the 11th pitcher in MLB history to strike out 3,500 career hitters.
But Scherzer allowed a home run to the first batter he faced, one of three he’d surrender Friday, and Cleveland scored five runs in the first. His fastball averaged 92.8 m.p.h., but he wasn’t fooling the Guardians, who swung and missed only twice on 82 pitches.
Though the Blue Jays rallied late, they lost 8-6 while falling to 10-15 on the season. All told, Scherzer allowed seven runs on six hits in 2.1 innings pitched. He walked three without registering that milestone strikeout as his season ERA climbed to 9.64.
“The baseball gods are trying to hold off on that 3500th strikeout,” manager John Schneider remarked. “Weird one.”
While all pitchers perform poorly on occasion, this outing adds to a concerning month of April for Scherzer. In four starts since revealing that he’s battling forearm tendinitis, he has allowed 19 earned runs over 12.2 innings while allowing as many home runs as strikeouts (six each).
Asked how his forearm feels, he said: "I would not characterize this start as the fault of my forearm."
Not only are the Blue Jays 1-3 in Scherzer’s last four starts, the short outings have taxed the bullpen considerably. On Friday, for instance, five relievers were needed. It’s not sustainable, so the Blue Jays will have to find a way to get Scherzer right.
His next start is slated for Wednesday against the Red Sox. Before then, Scherzer plans to watch tape of this start to better understand what went wrong.
"Just give the Guardians credit. They put together good at-bats," he said. "I blinked and made a mistake and they capitalized. It just stinks to lose this one."
In the meantime, the Blue Jays have plenty of other questions as Nathan Lukes was forced out of the game with left hamstring discomfort in the first inning. Hours earlier, he changed his walk-up song to Vertigo by U2, a nod to the ailment that’s tested him so far this season. Now, he’s set to get an MRI after pulling up tentatively at second base.
For a Blue Jays team dealing with more than its share of injuries, it’s far from ideal.
“We don't focus on it because it can't be something that we see as an excuse,” GM Ross Atkins said before the game. “We have to overcome it.”
Behind the scenes, both George Springer and Addison Barger are making progress, with Springer ramping up his running and progressing well enough that a rehab stint may not be required.
There were some positives for the Blue Jays’ offence Friday, as Jesus Sanchez and Kazuma Okamoto both homered and Andres Gimenez had three hits against his former team.
"We hit some balls extremely hard," Schneider said. "I loved the at-bats. Love the effort the guys gave from pitch one all the way to the last out ... So really encouraging signs there with the offence, really encouraging signs with the bullpen.”
Meanwhile, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a run while playing in his 1000th career game, a milestone that reflects durability and preparation behind the scenes.
“He posts,” Schneider said. “It's pretty cool that he has the ability to hopefully do that with one team for his career (and) check off some milestone boxes.”
As Scherzer seeks answers, it’s worth noting that reinforcements are approaching the MLB level. Jose Berrios will start at triple-A Tuesday, after which he could rejoin the MLB rotation. And while Trey Yesavage may require another minor-league rehab start, the Blue Jays haven’t ruled out a season debut against the Red Sox next week.
“It's very exciting without putting too much pressure on him,” Schneider said. “You forget about that part where it's going to be his first full year in the big leagues. So, I think it'll be cool to watch him navigate.”
The eventual return of Yesavage and Berrios will surely help, but the Blue Jays need immediate solutions, or else they’re going to create more pressure for themselves later in the season. With that in mind, they moved Jeff Hoffman out of the closer’s role before the game, moving to a committee that will feature Louis Varland and others.
One way or another, Atkins wants to see the Blue Jays get back to the “aggressive brand of baseball” that defined their defence, baserunning and offence in 2025.
“Our team is built to put pressure on teams in all aspects of the game,” Atkins said. “We're seeing that trend a little more positively and believe it will continue to correct. But we would certainly like to be in a better situation from a win-loss standpoint.”
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