TORONTO -- Max Scherzer is no stranger to the World Series, having already pitched in three Fall Classics with three different clubs prior to joining the Blue Jays this year.
That doesn’t make Scherzer’s starting assignment for Game 3 of the World Series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Monday night -- which the Blue Jays concurrently announced with Shane Bieber starting Game 4 on Tuesday night -- any less special.
“This is what you play for,” Scherzer said on Saturday before Game 2. “To be able to get to this spot, this moment, to have a shot at it.”
This will be Scherzer’s fifth career World Series start. His first came back in 2012 with the Tigers, followed by a pair of starts for the Nationals in 2019 before his most recent, which came in 2023 with the Rangers.
“You just think about it all,” Scherzer said. “Throughout your whole life, all the different things that have unfolded, and just so fortunate to have another crack at this. I mean, there's so many great players that have never gotten to a World Series, so many great players where they only have one World Series. … I absolutely respect playing in a World Series, what that means, and absolutely cherish these opportunities.”
In Game 4 of the ALCS vs. the Mariners, Scherzer battled control and his own delivery over 5 2/3 innings, allowing three hits, one homer, two runs, walking four and fanning five.
Making the 500th start of his MLB career, regular and postseason combined, Scherzer proved that all of his years have mattered. Sure, he was dreadful down the stretch for the Blue Jays and fighting his body, like any 41-year-old starter should be, but his stubbornness was not without reason. Scherzer knew -- and convinced everyone around him, too -- that he had something left to give to the Blue Jays.
“This is what you play for,” Scherzer said after Toronto's 8-2 victory. “You’re in the biggest moment of the season right now. These games are must-win, every single one of them. This is what you play for. You work so hard the whole year. You make all of the sacrifices and put all of the work in to get to this moment, to have these types of moments.”
The 18-year veteran even showed flickers of his past competitive self.
Manager John Schneider approached Scherzer on the mound with two outs in the fifth inning and Randy Arozarena strolling to the dish behind him. Schneider looked like he was approaching a lion. By the time his left cleat stepped on the mound’s dirt, Scherzer was shouting at him, raging against the idea that anyone else would decide when this was over.
“I thought he was going to kill me. It was great,” Schneider said. “He locked eyes with me, both colors, as I walked out. It’s not fake. That’s the thing, this isn’t fake. He has that Mad Max persona, and he backed it up tonight.”
Schneider said he’d been waiting for that moment since he and Scherzer had their first Zoom call in the offseason, back when the Blue Jays were still trying to convince the likely future Hall of Famer that any of this was possible.
“All of the sudden I saw Schneids coming out and I kind of went, ‘Whoaaa, whoa whoa. I’m not coming out of this ballgame.’ I felt too good,” Scherzer said. “We had a little conversation where I basically said that I was willing to stay in the ballgame, just with some other words involved. I knew I was strong. I knew I wanted the ball.”
Going with Scherzer for Game 3 also keeps the door open for him to pitch again should this Series go seven games.
“Him pitching in that environment, that's going to be a lot of hoopla, Game 3, much like yesterday -- or any game this Series,” Schneider said. “He's pitched in that stadium. It keeps him available for Game 7.”
Bieber's last start was in Game 7 of the ALCS this past Monday. Over 3 2/3 innings, he allowed two runs on seven hits and one homer, issued one free pass and notched five strikeouts. In three postseason starts this year, he is 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA, 15 punchouts and three walks over 12 1/3 innings.
“I wanted to give [Bieber] an extra day,” said Schneider. “What he has done coming off Tommy John 18 months later, I think, is probably best-case scenario in terms of what he's been doing and how he's recovering. You feel good about veteran guys in a hostile environment.”