Max Scherzer took a solid step toward returning to the Blue Jays rotation on Sunday afternoon, throwing three scoreless innings in his first rehab outing for Triple-A Buffalo in the Bisons' 8-5 loss to Lehigh Valley.
Scherzer -- who has been out with right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation -- allowed two walks, but he didn't allow a hit and he struck out four while throwing 24 of 41 pitches for strikes. His fastball hovered consistently in the 92-94 mph range, on par with his work for Toronto earlier this season.
Scherzer’s total workload was on the shorter side of the potential 40-60 pitch range that manager John Schneider outlined when the rehab was first announced on Thursday.
Both walks came in the second, before Scherzer induced a 1-4-3 double play off the bat of Bryan De La Cruz to end the inning. Scherzer only needed 11 pitches to complete the third while striking out Caleb Ricketts and Dylan Carlson.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner has pitched to an uncharacteristic 9.64 ERA in five starts with the Blue Jays before landing on the 15-day IL on April 25.
He completed six innings in two of those five starts, but was unable to last half as long in the other three.