Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Max Scherzer looks about ready to return to the big leagues.
The 40-year-old made his second rehab start with the Buffalo Bisons and performed well, tossing 4 1/3 innings on 75 pitches, striking out eight batters, allowing only one hit and walking two.
Scherzer sat at 92.5 m.p.h. with his fastball while topping out at 94.2 m.p.h. He mixed in his curveball, cutter, changeup and slider to generate 11 whiffs on 36 swings.
The 40-year-old was particularly sharp in the first inning, striking out two batters. He was even more impressive in the second frame, mowing down all three Red Sox hitters with swinging strikeouts.
“I looked at the reports [but] haven’t spoken to him yet,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said following Toronto’s 8-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. “I’ll get in touch with him later tonight. But the line was great and what I saw on video looked really good, too.”
Scherzer’s only appearance with the Blue Jays this season came during his debut on March 29 against the Baltimore Orioles. He lasted three innings before exiting, later revealing the issue to be right thumb inflammation; something he said has flared up in the past.
Scherzer will likely rejoin the Blue Jays for his next start, which could come on Tuesday against the Guardians in Cleveland. Given Monday’s off day, that would ensure the veteran right-hander has five days of rest between outings.
“That’d be good,” Schneider said on Wednesday. “I know he talked about that in spring, kind of having like an extra day before you get into the season. So yeah, that would line up nicely.”
The veteran hurler signed a one-year, $15.5 million contract with the Blue Jays over the offseason, his seventh team over the course of his illustrious 18-year career.
Toronto enters Thursday’s game at 40-33 and a few games back of the struggling New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.
With files from Sportsnet’s David Singh
