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Texas Rangers ace Max Scherzer exited Tuesday's start against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning with an apparent lower body injury. Scherzer looked like he came down awkwardly on a one-out breaking ball to Bo Bichette. Rangers catcher Jonah Heim immediately came out to the mound, followed by manager Bruce Bochy and athletic trainer Matt Lucero.
Max Scherzer has exited the game with a trainer after an unknown injury during a pitch. pic.twitter.com/swIYg41InO
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 13, 2023
After several minutes of discussion, Scherzer returned to the mound to throw a practice pitch. He stopped in the middle of his wind up, then did the same thing on a second attempt before heading to the dugout, visibly frustrated. Max Scherzer, 39, had pitched well in Tuesday's start. In 5.1 innings, he allowed no runs on three hits and a walk, striking out two Blue Jays.
At only 73 pitches, Bruce Bochy certainly wanted to leave Scherzer in the game for at least another inning to delay getting into the bullpen, which is notoriously bad. Texas needs all the wins it can get in this critical four-game series with Toronto. The Blue Jays lead the Rangers by half a game in the AL Wild Card standings.
Not only has the Rangers' bullpen struggled heavily, but the starting rotation has as well. Scherzer has been one of the most dependable pitchers on the roster throughout a brutal late-season stretch. He gave up seven runs to the Houston Astros in his last start, but he's given up only nine total runs across his other seven starts with the Rangers.
At the time of writing, Texas leads Toronto 5-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning. More information on Scherzer's mysterious injury will follow.
Update: Rangers training staff says Max Scherzer left Tuesday's game with a right triceps spasm. The team will know more on Wednesday.
