An MRI on Thursday confirmed a left oblique injury for New York Mets right-hander Max Scherzer and the “moderate to high-grade” strain brings an expected absence of six to eight weeks.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner took himself out of the game Wednesday and joins Mets starter Jacob deGrom on the injured list with a similar timeframe for his potential return of July. deGrom is building strength in attempting to return from a stress reaction in his right shoulder.
Scherzer, 37, exited after 5 2/3 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals with discomfort in his left side Wednesday night. The right-hander earned the win to improve to 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA in eight starts.
Scherzer, facing likely fellow future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols, made a throat slashing motion and appeared to say “I’m done” after sailing a slider out of the strike zone with two runners on base. He departed after a brief consultation with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, manager Buck Showalter and a trainer.
“In that Pujols at-bat, just felt a zing on my left side and just knew I was done,” Scherzer said after the game. “Don’t know exactly what the exact injury is, but (I’ve) never had a left side injury before. So when I felt it, I just knew there’s no way you can throw another pitch. So just get out of there.”
Scherzer, who signed a three-year, $130 million contract with the Mets in November, said he was hoping to avoid a major injury.
An eight-time All-Star, Scherzer is 195-98 with a 3.15 ERA and 3,079 strikeouts in 415 games (406 starts) with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets.
–Field Level Media
