The Toronto Blue Jays' 18-year veteran right-hander Max Scherzer will start Game 3 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night at Dodger Stadium. Manager John Schneider confirmed the decision Saturday, also naming Shane Bieber as the starter for Game 4 on Tuesday.
Scherzer will make his 500th career start across the regular season and postseason combined, as the series shifts to Los Angeles. The three-time Cy Young Award winner last pitched in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners, throwing 5⅔ innings, allowing two runs on three hits, walking four, and striking out five to help Toronto win. That outing was his only postseason appearance this year after being left off the ALDS roster.
In his first season with the Blue Jays, Scherzer went 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.294 WHIP over 17 starts, tallying 82 strikeouts. A two-time World Series champion, Scherzer holds a 1-0 record and a 3.26 ERA in four career World Series starts, totaling 19 strikeouts in 19⅓ innings.
This appearance will also be a reunion of sorts for the 41-year-old, who made 11 starts for the Dodgers in 2021, posting a .619 opponent OPS in 109⅔ career innings against Los Angeles. The Dodgers, meanwhile, will counter with Tyler Glasnow in Game 3 and Shohei Ohtani in Game 4.
Shane Bieber, who will take on the mound after Scherzer, has been equally valuable this postseason. The 30-year-old righty, a former Cy Young winner, owns a 1-0 record with a 4.38 ERA, 15 strikeouts, and three walks in 12⅓ innings this postseason. Bieber last pitched in Game 7 of the ALCS, allowing two runs over 3⅔ innings against Seattle.
Toronto currently leads the series 1-0 against the defending champions after an 11-4 rout in Game 1 on Friday, their first World Series appearance since 1993. They will face off again on Saturday, with veteran Kevin Gausman starting for the Blue Jays against Yoshinobu Yamamoto at Rogers Centre at 8:00 p.m. EST.
