DUNEDIN, Fla. — Two innings of work, four strikeouts and eight total whiffs on 16 swings at four different pitches added up to a solid spring debut for Max Scherzer, not that he’s reading much into the results.
“I’m not riding this roller-coaster — I’m not saying this is too good, or too bad, this or that,” he said, after throwing 34 pitches in a 3-2 win over St. Louis Cardinals during his Toronto Blue Jays spring debut Tuesday. “This is, come out here, check the box, be healthy and get out of here.”
Done and done for the 40-year-old, who’s been through this enough to know exactly what he needs to accomplish during spring training to be ready once the bell rings.
For the time being, that’s ensuring his body is responding to a meticulous ramp-up while getting back to game speed, especially important after his 2024 was truncated by rehab from back surgery at the beginning, and by shoulder and groin injuries at the end.
“Your first three starts, you’re getting your feedback underneath you, then the last three starts are ramping up even more, getting into the fine details,” he explained. “So, run the program, stay on course, keep ramping up.”
Beyond that this spring is building rapport with his new teammates, catcher Alejandro Kirk first and foremost. Against the Cardinals, Scherzer called more of the game than he usually would, trying to speed along the process of Kirk recognizing: “I saw this swing, this is why I called that pitch. … These are the sequences that I’m seeing, I hear what you’re calling and that’s not how I typically do it.”
“With time, that will get ironed out,” Scherzer added. “I want the catcher calling the game. … I’ve got to trust his eyes. We do a bunch of homework before the start, you really want him to be the eyes and ears thinking things through there, and I’m concentrating on execution. When you get on the same page, the catcher should already know that you want to throw that pitch in that situation. Just a learning curve.”
Also a learning curve is how Kirk receives pitches, which prompted Scherzer to use the ABS challenge system in the second inning. Facing JJ Wetherholt, he threw a 1-0 curveball that missed low, and the call was upheld, an experimentation by Scherzer unlike the first, when Alec Burleson successfully challenged a 1-1 pitch called a strike that was changed to a ball.
“They always say curveballs will clip the bottom of the zone and I saw Kirky kind of grab it,” Scherzer said of his challenge. “Whether it was a ball or strike, in that moment I wanted to know, because each catcher has their own individual strike zone — Is that actually at the bottom of the zone? — (and) get live feedback of knowing that’s actually below the zone based on his setup. So, it dials you into where you’re actually trying to deliver the ball to the catcher.”
By and large, Scherzer is “a little skeptical,” about this spring’s experiment with the ABS challenge system, understanding the premise of giving players a chance to correct egregious calls, while arguing that “major-league umpires are really good.”
“What are we actually changing here?” he asked. “There are going to be strikes changed to balls, and balls changed to strikes. So, we’re going to basically be even. Are we actually going to improve the game? Are the umpires really that bad? I don’t think so.”
BATTER’S VIEW: Although Scherzer wasn’t interested in drawing conclusions from his performance, Cardinals outfielder Lars Nootbar, caught looking on a 2-2 fastball to cap a seven-pitch at-bat in the first, came away impressed.
“He’s still the guy,” Nootbar told reporters. “He’s 91, 92, 93 (mph) and in the zone with that low-release angle, the efficient spin, so the fastball gets on you. Guys were talking about it coming back to the dugout. There’s a reason he’s Max Scherzer and he gets the most swings and misses in the zone of anyone ever.”
BOWDEN GETS GOING: Slated to start Monday at Lakeland, Fla., before rain washed away the Blue Jays’ visit to the Tigers, Bowden Francis instead followed Scherzer against the Cardinals.
“That was awesome,” Francis said. “That doesn’t seem like something that will ever happen, coming out of the game and he’s sitting there next to you talking to you about it. One of those rainy days and a good positive came out of it.”
Francis threw 27 pitches, topping out at 95 mph with his fastball, while allowing only a Victor Scott II solo shot in two innings of work.
“Step 1 is feeling good at this time,” said Francis. “With moving (the ball) around the zone, I felt like I did a pretty good job. … The results are whatever. Just working on refining the splitter, refining the slider and curveball is always there, so I’m just keeping it in the back pocket.”
SCARY MOMENT: Jays outfielder Joey Loperfido left the game two pitches in with neck discomfort after he awkwardly crashed into the centre-field wall trying to snag a drive by Victor Scott II.
He appeared to lose his balance while adjusting to the ball’s trajectory before a lunge brought him down to the ground, his head and neck slamming into the wall. After being tended to by head trainer Jose Ministral, he walked off the field.
“He’s all right,” said Jays manager John Schneider. “No concussion symptoms or anything, got checked out. It’s more upper back/neck discomfort. We’ll check it out tomorrow and hopefully (he) doesn’t miss much.”
