WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Max Scherzer, for one night at least, offered a throwback performance.
He stifled Athletics hitters for five innings on Friday night before finally running into some trouble in the sixth, but even then he limited the damage before exiting in a 7-6 Toronto victory.
Scherzer (1-0) finished with eight strikeouts while allowing five hits.
“He was dominating areas up and down and out,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “He is who he is for a reason.”
Scherzer claimed his first victory since July 25 last year when he pitched for Texas and the Rangers defeated the Chicago White Sox 2-1.
Injuries didn’t help. The three-time Cy Young Award winner opened last season on the injured list after undergoing back surgery. Then shortly after recording that victory against the White Sox, he spent more than a month on the IL because of shoulder fatigue.
Scherzer signed a $15.5 million, one-year contract with the Blue Jays in the offseason, but again experienced health issues. He went on this 60-day IL because of an injured thumb.
“My body’s good,” Scherzer said. “As long as my thumb is healthy, I can be myself. I can pitch like this. It’s all about my thumb.”
This was his fourth start since rejoining the rotation, and Scherzer made the most of it. He struck out five consecutive batters at one point and shut out the A’s over five innings, allowing just singles to Nick Kurtz and Tyler Soderstrom. The A’s began to get to Scherzer in the sixth, with Kurtz hitting a two-run home run and Soderstrom getting a solo shot.
Those homers cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 7-3, but Scherzer induced a flyout to Miguel Andujar to end the threat.
“It’s my first time at 90 pitches, lengthening my arm out for the first time to the sixth inning this year,” Scherzer said. “Get acclimated to that pitch count and hopefully get rolling. I’m happy about this, especially when we win. When I get my chance after the (All-Star) break, keep this going.”
Schneider said he thought the break came at a good time for the 40-year-old Scherzer.
“Hopefully, he can build off of this and get him out there pretty regularly,” Schneider said. “I think reshuffling the rotation if we can to give him a little more rest would be great. I’ll take him on the mound any day of the week.”
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