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max shazer About to become the only living pitcher to start a winner-take-all World Series game Second time 7.
baseball Its final game will be on Saturday night when Scherzer and the toronto The Blue Jays play the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are trying to become the first team to win three consecutive titles since the 1998–2000 New York Yankees won three consecutive titles.
Los Angeles was expected to start Tyler Glasnow before going on to win 3–1 in Game 6. The 6-foot-8 right-hander is still likely to be available, but manager Dave Roberts’ options also include Shohei Ohtani, who could pitch 2-4 innings as an opener on short rest.
Scherzer also started the last Game 7 in 2019, boosted by a cortisone injection for a irritated nerve near his neck. mad Max He did not have a clean inning and left after trailing by two runs in five games before the Washington Nationals won 6–2 in Houston.
Only Bob Gibson (1964, ’67, ’68) and Lew Burdette and Don Larson (both 1957 and ’58) have started more winner-take-all Game 7s in the World Series. While Burley Grimes started Game 7s in 1920 and ’31, his first series was a best-of-nine series that year.
Toronto signed the three-time Cy Young Award winner to a $15.5 million, one-year contract. After winning titles with Washington in 2019 and Texas in 2023, Scherzer chose his destination in hopes of winning a third World Series ring. The 18-year big league veteran eagerly shared his experience with the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday, “He’s not afraid to question the baserunning, question the defense, question the offense. He still thinks he’s our best baserunner on the team since his days with the Nationals.” “He’s not afraid to push the envelope. He’s not afraid to be curious. He’s not afraid to share things that he’s gone through that I probably haven’t gone through.”
Teammate Chris Bassitt said, “There are a lot of teams that don’t like Max Scherzer just because he questions everything.” “He wants to know every little detail from the position of the outfield to why you’re throwing this pitch, who’s playing here and how we handle off-days.
“I feel like a lot of organizations don’t like to answer questions. They want you to be a robot and say, yes sir, and do your job.”
Scherzer went 5–5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts this season. The eight-time All-Star did not pitch between March 29 and June 25 due to right thumb inflammation, then was taken off Toronto’s roster for the first round of the playoffs after going 0-3 in his last five games with neck pain.
He turned the clock on itself during the American League Championship Series and earned a win in Game 4 against Seattle after yelling at Schneider during a mound visit.
Toronto asked Bassitt to help recruit teammate Scherzer to the 2022 New York Mets and he praised general manager Ross Atkins for the move.
Bassitt said, “I told Ross: It’s going to be a headache for you, having Max Scherzer. And then I told the pitching staff about him, and I told the coaching staff, like: This is a guy who’s going to stir a lot of pots.” “So everyone looks at 41-year-old Max, who may have ended up on the IL a few times, and they don’t understand the true value of having that experienced guy who knows what it takes to win, and then he can also teach you a thing or two along the way.”
Glasnow got three outs on three pitches to end Game 6. After Roky Sasaki left runs on second and third with no outs in the ninth, Glasnow popped up Ernie Clement on the first pitch, then Andres Gimenez hit a liner to left fielder Kike Hernandez, who caught it and doubled out Addison Barger at second base.
Glasnow, acquired from Tampa Bay in December 2023, was sidelined from April 27 to July 9 due to right shoulder inflammation. The 32-year-old right-hander has a 1.42 ERA in three starts and two relief outings this postseason.
Toronto will play a World Series Game 7 for the first time – the Blue Jays won their only championship in six games in both 1992 and ’93.
The LA Dodgers won their only Series Game 7 in Minnesota in 1965, when Sandy Koufax pitched a three-hit shutout on two days’ rest after pitching a four-hit shutout in Game 5. They lost Game 7 at home to Houston in 2017. Going back, the Brooklyn Dodgers lost Game 7 to the Yankees in 1947, ’52 and ’56, and beat the Yankees in Game 7. 1955.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb