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The Toronto Blue Jays will hand the ball to Max Scherzer. Thursday night in Seattle for Game 4 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS), a decision that involves both risk and intrigue as the veteran right-hander prepares for his first postseason start in a Blue Jays uniform.
Scherzer, 41, has built a Hall of Fame resume across 17 big league seasons, but his 2025 campaign in Toronto was anything but good. He finished the regular season with a 5–5 record, 5.19 ERA, and 82 strikeouts in 85 innings. His performance fluctuated dramatically from month to month, leaving fans and pundits alike curious as to which version of the three-time Cy Young Award winner would come into Game 4.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the decision to start Scherzer in Game 4 was dependent on experience.
“You want someone who has been in these moments before,” Schneider said earlier this week.
After losing the first and second games at home, The Blue Jays responded in a significant way on Wednesday night.Seattle was defeated 13–4 and chased starter George Kirby, who was tagged for eight earned runs. Andres Jimenez, George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger all went deep, as the Blue Jays finished with 18 combined hits.
A season of ups and downs for Scherzer
Scherzer’s season began with promise but soon became uneven:
- April May: He returned to form with limited action and showed flashes of his trademark strikeout stuff.
- June July: A string of steady outings, keeping his ERA in the mid-3s and giving Toronto quality innings. On July 27, Scherzer had a stellar start against Detroit, striking out 11 in seven innings.
- august: Mixed results, including a six-inning win over Minnesota but also a four-run win against Milwaukee.
- September: His toughest month yet, posting a 10.20 ERA in four starts. That run included a disastrous outing on September 19 at Kansas City, where he recorded only two outs while giving up seven runs.
His final start of the regular season came on September 24 against Boston, when he allowed four runs on 10 hits in five innings.
The Blue Jays opted to leave him and veteran right-hander Chris Bassitt off the ALDS roster against the Yankees and went with four left-handed pitchers to counter New York’s many left-handed hitters. That strategy proved correct, as the Blue Jays won the ALDS with three traditional starters (Kevin Gausman, Trey Yves and Shane Bieber).
Scherzer’s playoff track record
Despite the difficult year, Scherzer’s postseason track record is extensive. Thursday’s outing will be his 26th career playoff start and 31st appearance overall. He has a 7–8 postseason record with a 3.78 ERA and 171 strikeouts in his October career. His resume includes a World Series title with Washington in 2019, though he has not won a postseason title since that championship.
Pitching with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021, Scherzer appeared in four playoff games in the NL Wild Card Series, NLDS, and NLCS, striking out 23 batters in 16 2/3 innings, and finishing with a stellar 2.16 ERA.
However, results in recent years have been more mixed. Scherzer started Game 1 of the NLWC as a member of the 2022 New York Mets and gave up seven earned runs in 4 2/3 innings, giving up four home runs in a loss to San Diego.
With the Texas Rangers in 2023, the future Hall of Famer appeared in three postseason games (Game 3 of the ALCS, Game 7 of the ALCS, and Game 3 of the World Series), finishing with a combined 6.52 ERA. However, he was effective in Game 3 of the World Series, pitching three shutout innings while allowing only two hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
what’s at stake?
Toronto entered Game 4 in Seattle after losing the first two games at home trying to tie the series, but bounced back with a decisive win in Game 3. With the Mariners facing off against Luis Castillo, who has yet to make an appearance this postseason, the Blue Jays will need Scherzer to provide more than just a veteran presence.
The Blue Jays still have their work cut out for them. Teams down 0-2 in best-of-seven series have won only 14 out of 52 times (26.9 percent), and only four of those have been in the LCS. The 1996 Yankees are the latest example of a club that went 0-2 before turning the tables and winning the World Series.
“We saw it again and again throughout this year as we responded in many different ways,” Scherzer said Wednesday. “We had a lot of comeback wins. We played great ball. Yes, we lost two games. Yes, obviously, these are must-win games. We all understand what’s at stake.
Schneider said Tuesday before Game 3, “I’ve talked about preparing for him all year. So I think things have to be normal for him. Going back, you want to see normalcy. So you trust that he’s going to be prepared and go out and give it his all and hopefully step up to a big moment. He’s a Hall of Famer for a reason. So you feel good handing him the ball and watching him go to work.”
With files from Sportsnet