Max Scherzer Believes He's Ready to Rejoin New York Mets
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He believes he is ready.
In what was his second rehab start for Double A Binghamton on Wednesday night, Max Scherzer went 4 1/3 innings on 80 pitches, while allowing two earned runs (three total) on four hits. He walked one and struck out eight batters.
“I had to work through some traffic, was about to come back out and get five ups in, get 80 pitches in, and everything felt good, so I’m good to go,” Scherzer said after his latest minor league outing.
When asked if he thinks he will need anymore rehab starts, the three-time Cy Young winner's answer was short and sweet: "No."
While Scherzer passed a big test by making it through his second rehab outing, how his oblique responds in the next few days will determine whether he can rejoin the Mets for his next turn in the rotation.
Following his first rehab start on June 21, in which he threw 65 pitches across 3 1/3 innings, Scherzer was hoping to return from the IL on Sunday in Miami. However, he experienced some oblique soreness after going through his in between start routine: bullpen, rehab and core work.
As a result, Scherzer and the Mets decided it would be best to give him another rehab start, which came eight days after he initially began his rehab assignment. Scherzer has been extremely conscious of listening to his body during this process in order to avoid suffering a setback.
This time, the righty is confident his next start will come in the majors because the rehab process should now slow down, and he has checked every necessary box.
“It’s just a learning curve of understanding what this injury is. … Now the rehab kind of calms down a little bit. Now it’s just focused on pitching,” Scherzer said. “I really feel confident about going through this turn now of how I will prepare for my next start. It won’t be as much rehab in the process, so I really don’t think that’s going to overload the oblique on this turn, and that will allow me to make my next start in five days.”
Scherzer and the Mets are hoping he can rejoin the major league rotation for his next turn, which could come on Monday in Cincinnati.
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