Max Scherzer lived up to the Mad Max moniker on Thursday night in Seattle.
And it paid off for the Blue Jays in their 8-2 win over the Mariners in Game 4 of the ALCS.
After Scherzer got the first two outs against the Mariners in the bottom fifth inning and was sitting at 70 pitches on the night, Blue Jays manager John Schneider came out to the mound for a visit.
When the skipper comes out, that usually spells the end of the night for a pitcher, but Scherzer was fired up and said emphatically to Schneider that he wanted to stay in the game.
“I thought he was going to kill me. It was great,” Schneider said afterward. “He has this Mad Max persona, but he backed it up tonight.
“I’ve been waiting for that all year, for Max to yell at me on the mound. I think at that point there’s numbers, there’s projections, there’s strategy, and there’s people. So I was trusting people.”
The 41-year-old right-hander stayed in the game and then struck out Mariners slugger Randy Arozarena to end the frame.
“And all of a sudden I see Schneids coming out and it kind of caught me off guard,” Scherzer said. “That’s just one of those moments where I know I wanted the ball. I knew the situation of the game. I wanted the ball and I basically told him that in a little bit different language.”
And not only that, Scherzer came back out for the sixth inning and got the first two outs — including a punchout of Julio Rodriguez.
He then yielded a walk to Jorge Polanco to end his night after 5 ²/₃ innings.
Even with Polanco scoring on a hit later in the frame, Scherzer finished the night with a solid line, striking out five batters while allowing two earned runs, three hits and two walks.
Most importantly, he left with the Blue Jays in the lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish.
Scherzer battled injuries and consistency issues when he last pitched in the postseason in 2023 when he won the World Series with the Rangers.
Before Thursday night, you would have to go back to 2021 when he was with the Dodgers to find a playoff outing in which he pitched at least five innings.
In Game 4, the Blue Jays got a taste of vintage Scherzer right when they needed it most to even up the ALCS.
