Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer aims to take another step forward Monday night and help the host Toronto Blue Jays gain on the first-place New York Yankees.
Scherzer (0-0, 5.63 ERA) is scheduled to start the opener of a four-game series for the third-place Blue Jays, who are three games behind the Yankees in the American League East.
The 40-year-old right-hander — an eight-time All-Star — will make his third start of the season and his second since returning from an inflamed thumb that put him on the injured list.
After lasting only three innings in a March 29 start, Scherzer returned on Wednesday to pitch five innings against the Cleveland Guardians, allowing three runs, six hits and three walks with four strikeouts in a no-decision.
“A little rusty,” Scherzer said. “I could execute better. I pitched good; I didn’t pitch great.”
Toronto manager John Schneider said: “There were so many positives to take out of that. I think going forward for us, that’s a really, really good sign.”
Scherzer is 4-5 with a 4.25 ERA in 12 career starts against the Yankees.
He is expected to oppose Carlos Rodon (9-5, 2.92). In seven career starts against Toronto, the 32-year-old left-hander is 2-2 with a 5.02 ERA. Rodon is coming off a six-inning scoreless start in a no-decision last Tuesday against the host Cincinnati Reds.
The Blue Jays completed a 4-2 road trip with a 5-3 series-clinching victory over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday.
The Yankees won the rubber match of their three-game home series against the Athletics 12-5 on Sunday.
Toronto could use some innings from Scherzer. The bullpen worked hard over the past two games after Chris Bassitt went two-plus innings in his start on Saturday and Eric Lauer went 4 1/3 innings in his Sunday start.
Neither team is particularly hot. The Blue Jays are 7-8 since June 13 and the Yankees are 6-10 over the same span.
“It’s still June going into July, but it’s a big series,” Schneider said. “You get four against the team that’s leading the division … and it’s nice to have Max Scherzer on the mound.”
Scherzer will need to be concerned about Aaron Judge, who hit a pair of two-run home runs for the Yankees on Sunday, and Jazz Chisholm Jr., who also had four RBIs with a triple and a three-run homer.
“We know we’re not playing our best and we’re still out there at the top of the division and that gives us a huge advantage in our eyes,” Chisholm said. “We can imagine when we get back on a roll like at the beginning of the season.”
Judge has one career homer against Scherzer. Giancarlo Stanton, who did not play on Sunday, has four homers against him.
The Yankees hope that Sunday’s scoring spree is a sign that their hitting is returning after a drought.
“In baseball, you are going to have little peaks and valleys,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “The past couple of weeks have been a little tough for us. We’ve had some stretches in there where I felt like we were close to this.”
An exception has been Chisholm. In 21 games since June 5, he has batted .321 (25-for-78) with four doubles, one triple, five home runs, 12 runs and 17 RBIs.
Chisholm also has been impressive defensively at third base, which he showed again on Sunday.
“His game is so electric,” Boone said. “He can change the game and affect the game in so many different ways in a dynamic fashion.”
–Field Level Media
