Oh, No! MRI Exam Set for Texas Rangers Ace Max Scherzer
Texas Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer is scheduled for an MRI exam after leaving Tuesday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning with a right triceps spasm.
The Rangers won 6-3, with Scherzer improving to 13-6 after pitching 5 1/3 shutout innings and allowing just of three hits.
But with noticeable pain on this face, he could not go any further. The MRI exam is scheduled for Wednesday.
"Best-case scenario is I wake up tomorrow and I feel great," Scherzer said. "But we'll see. I got to get an MRI. We got to know exactly what this is."
The Rangers weren't taking any chances with their ace.
"We did not want him to push through it," manager Bruce Bochy said. "He said, 'I'll try to push through this,' and we said no. We were not going to take any chances there and it's too bad because he really had good stuff.
"He was on top of his game. Good command. All four pitches working for him."
Scherzer recorded the first out of the fifth, getting George Springer to ground out. During the next at-bat against Bo Bichette, Scherzer winced during a pitch and that drew several people to the mound, including team trainers.
"I could tell my triceps was starting to tighten up,” Scherzer said. "It felt muscular and you can work through that. I was working through the Springer at-bat and I could feel it but it wasn’t awful.
"Then I threw the curveball to Bichette and it felt like a charley horse that you get in your hamstring. I was hoping to work it out. But went I got on the mound and I went through the motion, it didn't release."
After he threw a warm-up pitch, during which he again showed pain, he left the game and was replaced by Jose Leclerc.
Scherzer added that his forearm has been tight the last couple of outings, so this injury is probably related because of the added stress on his arm.
"I haven't experienced this before," he said.
The Rangers (80-64) passed the Blue Jays (80-65) for second place in the Wild Card standings. Game 3 between the clubs is set for 6:10 p.m. Wednesday back at Rogers Centre.
Scherzer was on the verge of a quality start after getting shelled by the Houston Astros last week. In that game, Scherzer gave up six hits and seven earned runs in three innings.
In his previous start on Sept. 1 against Minnesota, he gave up one hit in six innings, striking out seven and walking two. But he also reported forearm stiffness to the training staff, which led the Rangers to remove him in the seventh. He made his next start against Houston on time.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.
