The New York Mets got a scare Wednesday night when ace Max Scherzer pulled himself from his start against the St. Louis Cardinals because of what the team called “left side discomfort.” While Scherzer will get an MRI Thursday, the Mets star insisted after Wednesday's 11-4 win that he's going to be okay.

Via ESPN:

“I don't think this is a major strain,” Scherzer said. “I was kind of tight and then all of a sudden it went. But I don't feel like I really ripped it. It just kind of got worse. So hopefully I got out of there quick enough to prevent a major injury here because I know oblique, intercostal, those things can be nasty. Hopefully I avoided a serious injury.”

Scherzer said he felt a “zing” on his left side in the sixth inning and knew he needed to get out of the game. The Mets star didn't want to risk anything further and is now hoping his own diagnosis winds up being true.

It wouldn't be a surprise if Scherzer misses some time, but as long as he avoided a major injury, that's a win. It's still so early in a long season, so the Mets can handle it if he misses time now.

The 37-year-old Scherzer is off to a dominant start for the Mets, who have been incredible so far in 2022. The righty moved to 5-1 on the season with Wednesday's victory, which saw him allow two runs (one earned) in 5 1/3 innings. He has a 2.54 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings on the year.

New York is 25-14, which is six games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies.