Max Scherzer was back in the Blue Jays' rotation on Wednesday night, taking the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies after spending the last month-and-a-half on the injured list rehabbing nagging injuries.
The timing mattered. Scherzer entered the series finale at 7 p.m. ET seeking Toronto's 34th win of the season, and he was also one strikeout away from 3,500 for his career. He was making his sixth start of the season, with a chance to inch closer to the all-time top 10 in strikeouts as well.
For Toronto, the return brought one of baseball's most decorated veterans back into a rotation that could use the lift. Scherzer is in his 19th major league season, the second-oldest active player behind Justin Verlander, and a two-time World Series champion and three-time Cy Young winner. The Blue Jays have leaned on that pedigree before, and on Wednesday they got it back at a point in the schedule when every start carries extra weight.
Scherzer did not hide how much the stint on the injured list bothered him. When he spoke recently about the rehab process, he said it stinks, a blunt reminder that even for a pitcher with two decades of success, the grind of getting healthy again can wear on him. He also made clear he wanted to get back with the team, provide some energy for the boys and help them win.
That is where the story gets bigger than one outing. Justin Verlander, Scherzer's closest active peer, has 3,554 strikeouts across 21 seasons, and Kevin Gausman said he believed Scherzer and Verlander would be the last pitchers to reach 3,500. Gausman called Scherzer an absolute animal and said he has one speed and one gear, with his foot on the gas. For Toronto, the immediate question is whether the veteran right-hander can answer the call right away and deliver the kind of start that turns a return into a jolt.
