When the Toronto Blue Jays needed him most, Mad Max delivered.
Max Scherzer worked 5.2 innings of two-run ball in Thursday's Game 4 against the Seattle Mariners, leaving the game with his club up 5-1.
The 41-year-old struck out five on 87 pitches and the only major damage he gave up on the night came on Josh Naylor's second-inning solo home run.
While the stuff was good, Scherzer's intensity and competitiveness seemed to pick up throughout the start, with things peaking during a fifth-inning mound visit.
After recording the second out of the frame, Blue Jays manager John Schneider started to make his way to the bump with Louis Varland warming in the bullpen.
The broadcast caught Scherzer emphatically yelling, "Whoa, whoa," towards the dugout as Schneider began to come out.
By the time Schneider arrived at the mound, Scherzer was emphatic that the skipper wasn't taking him out. It was the most of "Mad Max" that the Blue Jays have seen this season, as the future Hall of Fame locked eyes with Schneider and demanded to stay in, mixing in a couple of "Let's gos" before the manager turned tail back to the visitors' dugout.
Scherzer proved it was the right decision by punching out Randy Arozarena to end the inning and strand a runner on first.
In what was the 31st career post-season outing of Scherzer's career, he set the tone early, throwing the two hardest fastballs of his season in the first inning before escaping a jam with an inning-ending double play.
From there, Scherzer pounded the zone with his fastball, mostly mixing in his changeup against lefties and slider against righties to keep Mariners hitters off balance.
Mason Fluharty took over to close the sixth and allowed back-to-back hits, bringing home the second run of the game that was charged to Scherzer.
The three-time Cy Young winner was left off Toronto's roster for the ALDS against the New York Yankees after allowing 25 runs in his final 25 innings of the regular season. But returning to the roster to start Game 4, Scherzer stepped up with the Blue Jays looking to avoid a 3-1 hole in the ALCS.
