TORONTO -- No feeling is final for the 2026 Blue Jays. The jubilation of a walk-off win one night, the thud of a letdown the next. Max Scherzer opened the night with a little history, becoming just the 11th pitcher in MLB history to strike out 3,500 batters, but it went downhill from there.
This is what mattered most from the 7-4 loss to the Phillies:
1. Scherzer’s return? Not exactly triumphant
Scherzer needed 82 pitches to get through just 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on five hits, including a pair of home runs. Three walks drove up Scherzer’s pitch count, too, adding stress to what was already scheduled to be a short night for him in his first start back from the IL.
The 41-year-old now owns a 10.23 ERA. Scherzer’s velocities are just fine, his fastball sitting a healthy 93-95 mph all night, but this is a matter of execution and location. Even though Bryce Harper’s solo shot in the first inning needed a couple of bounces on the left-field wall before it snuck over (339 feet), it came on a fastball that got entirely too much of the plate. The same went for Alec Bohm’s blast, a slider that hung right over the heart of the plate.
Scherzer came away encouraged by how much better he feels physically, but the results need to follow.
“You can have good stuff and still get beat in this league,” he said. “You’ve got to execute pitches and be ahead of the hitters. They grinded me apart, and I made a bad pitch with a couple of runners on base.”
A healthy Scherzer is step one. The second, and far more important step, is an effective Scherzer.
2. There’s more uncertainty ahead for Scherzer and the Blue Jays
The Blue Jays have five healthy starters in Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Patrick Corbin and Scherzer. Shane Bieber is on the doorstep of a return, too. What then?
Bieber will throw a rehab outing Thursday night with Triple-A Buffalo, potentially landing near 70 pitches. Even if one more is needed, Toronto is still nearing decision time on how it'll handle this. Running a six-man rotation isn’t the Blue Jays' dream scenario, and while Corbin has hit some turbulence lately, Scherzer’s 10.23 ERA clearly needs to correct itself quickly.
Remember Spring Training, when it felt like the Blue Jays would have eight MLB-caliber starters? All along, manager John Schneider and the Blue Jays said the best five needed to be in the rotation. If Bieber returns soon, that could quickly become an uncomfortable conversation.
“You want to try to see what it looks like when he gets some consistent work and evaluate it then. I think he’s earned that,” Schneider said. “That’s the reason we signed him back. You don’t want to make any knee-jerk reactions after a month-plus off.”
3. Springer might need to dust off his glove
George Springer last played the outfield on Sept. 24, 2025, the final week of the regular season. Throughout the postseason and each game in ‘26, he’s been permanently entrenched as the DH.
With Alejandro Kirk close to returning, though, the equation is about to change. The Blue Jays are trying anything they can, including batting Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the leadoff spot Tuesday, so the odd day for Springer in a corner-outfield spot could be another way to shake things up.
“We’ve talked about it. He’s doing some things behind the scenes to keep himself available to do it,” Schneider said. “It won’t be all the time, but in a perfect world, yes, you can get him out there and balance out the handedness a little bit. We kind of have a plan in place to get that going.”
As the Blue Jays ease Kirk back in, there could be a day where Springer plays a corner-outfield spot against a lefty, with Brandon Valenzuela catching and Kirk at DH. Valenzuela could be a DH option, too, or this could free up a few more DH days to keep Vladdy fresh.
Springer doesn’t have the same speed and explosiveness he did when he was 22, but none of us do. What he does still have is excellent ball skills and an ability to catch anything he gets close to, including some great diving grabs over the years. The Blue Jays simply need more production from the DH spot, so any added versatility helps.