With a runner on first and two outs in the fifth inning of Game 4 of the ALCS, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider walked out to have a chat with starting pitcher Max Scherzer. It went about how you would expect if you’re familiar with Max Scherzer.
As soon as Schneider reached the mound Thursday, Scherzer began barking at him. It was unclear if Schneider wanted to pull the future Hall of Famer or simply talk about the next batter, Randy Arozarena, but the message from the pitcher was the same.
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In a word: “No.”
Scherzer proceeded to strike out Arozarena and smack his glove in celebration.
The veteran right-hander made sure to let Schneider know what happened as he walked into the dugout.
Among the people entertained by Scherzer’s reaction: his dugout.
Scherzer wound up staying in the game for the start of the sixth inning. He got the first two outs with a Cal Raleigh flyout and Julio Rodríguez strikeout, but then he walked Jorge Polanco on his 87th pitch of the game. That finally led to Schneider pulling him for left-hander Mason Fluharty, who ended up allowing Polanco to score.
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Scherzer’s final line: 5 2/3 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 4 walks and 5 strikeouts in a pivotal Game 4 that the Jays won 8-2 to tie this series 2-2.
After the game, Schneider didn’t seem too worried about his pitcher’s vigor:
“Been waiting for that all year, for Max to yell at me on the mound. … I was joking with him, I’ve been waiting for that moment since our Zoom call in the offseason before we signed him. Loved it. There’s a little more of that in between (before) I sent him back out for the sixth, too.
“It was awesome. I thought he was gonna kill me. It was great. He locked eyes with me, both colors, as I walked out. It’s not fake. That’s the thing. It’s not fake. He has this ‘Mad Max’ persona, but he backed it up tonight. The infielders had a good laugh, too, and he got the job done.”
Scherzer’s explanation:
“I understood where the game state was, knew how I wanted to attack, and all of a sudden, I saw Schneids coming out, and I went ‘Whoa whoa whoa whoa, I’m not coming out of this ballgame. I feel too good.’ And so we had a little conversation that basically I wanted to stay in the ballgame, but just with some other words involved.”
The postseason hasn’t always been kind to the three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion, but it has never been for a lack of intensity. Scherzer is a guy who can be seen growling and muttering under his breath, often profanely, between pitches during the regular season, and he hasn’t changed at 41 years old and on his seventh MLB team.
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There’s a reason Toronto wanted a pitcher like him on a team with playoff aspirations, signing him to a one-year, $15.5 million deal before the season. It wasn’t always pretty during the regular season, with a thumb injury knocking Scherzer out for most of the first half and a 5.19 season ERA, but he answered the bell in Game 4, putting his team in position to tie a series that felt nearly lost as it left Toronto.
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