Max Scherzer will pitch for the Toronto Blue Jays on short rest Sunday afternoon in the season finale against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
The 42-year-old right-hander stopped short, however, of saying whether this will be the final start of his Hall of Fame career.
“The only thing I’ll say about my future here is I’m going to make this decision about playing next year later in the offseason,” Scherzer said on Saturday, prior to the Blue Jays (78-83) dropping a 5-1 decision to the Reds (75-86).
“I’ve gone through ups and downs this season, I get it, but I’ve got to this point where I’m pretty healthy. I’ve talked to everybody in my inner circle and we all kind of feel the same way. We don’t need to make a decision today. Get to the offseason and see how things unfold.”
Scherzer also pitched the final game of the season for Toronto last year when he was the Game 7 starter in the World Series. He did not factor into the decision in the game won by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
This time he is starting the season finale between two teams playing out the schedule.
“That is such a memory. Game 7 of the World Series, there is just nothing better than that,” Scherzer said. “That is baseball at its pinnacle. To have the ball in that situation, competing like that and the way we played, that’s just a lifelong memory.”
Scherzer (3-9, 6.14 ERA) is 6-2 with a 1.67 ERA in 10 career starts against the Reds. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has not faced them since 2022, however.
“It will be cool facing him,” said Cincinnati shortstop Elly De La Cruz, who entered the majors one year after Scherzer last faced the Reds.
“He’s had an incredible career,” said Reds first baseman Sal Stewart, who is a favorite to be National League Rookie of the Year. “I watched him growing up. So it’s really cool. He’s had such a great career.”
Scherzer allowed four runs in five innings on Wednesday in a 4-2 road loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
The Reds are scheduled to start Brandon Williamson (5-4, 4.89). The left-hander is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA in his only career start against Toronto that came in 2023.
George Springer could be playing his final game as a Blue Jay on Sunday in another possible farewell. He is at the end of a six-year contract, and manager John Schneider will try to make sure that Scherzer and Springer get the appropriate fan recognition.
“That part of it is cool in an otherwise disappointing season,” Schneider said. “If this is the end, hopefully it’s a good sendoff.”
The Reds hope they have some hope for the future in the way that Rhett Lowder pitched on Saturday to finish his first complete season in the majors after his career was stalled by injuries and inconsistency. He controlled the Blue Jays through six scoreless innings.
Lowder said his season was “definitely inconsistent.”
“I know areas I need to improve on and I’m going to improve on them,” the right-hander said. “It’s just good to put a full season together and know the areas I need to get better — and I will.”
John Klein made his Blue Jays debut Saturday with four solid innings in relief in which he allowed two unearned runs while striking out five.
–Field Level Media
