Fittingly, the year-long chase for AL West supremacy culminates in a win or go home ALCS Game 7 clash between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros. With the pennant in striking distance for both teams, the Rangers are turning to the battle-tested Max Scherzer, the veteran starter they acquired from the New York Mets over two months ago, to keep their hopes of winning the franchise's first World Series crown alive.

It's not going to be an easy go-round for Scherzer on the mound, however, all his experience in high leverage moments notwithstanding. Scherzer is coming off a dreadful Game 3 start for the Rangers in which he lasted just four innings after allowing five runs on five hits, taking the loss in the process. Moreover, there may be a few question marks as to whether the 39-year old starter is truly healthy after a shoulder injury back in August forced him to miss around two months of action.

Nevertheless, Max Scherzer's Rangers teammates could not care less about his most recent outing; the likes of Jonah Heim and Marcus Semien know that Scherzer is built for the Game 7 spotlight.

“Max Scherzer, Game 7,” Heim said, per Buster Olney of ESPN. Added Semien, “Mad Max.”

That says a lot about the confidence Max Scherzer's presence alone gives the entire Rangers roster. And for the upcoming Game 7 clash against the Astros, that could be what sets them apart in the end given how razor-thin the margins are between these two AL West powerhouses.

As Marcus Semien points out, it's also likely that Scherzer can take all the lessons he learned from his uncharacteristic start in Game 3 and execute to perfection — which may be what the Rangers need to dethrone the Astros for good.

“I think he'll be well prepared and learn from last time. That lineup was attacking him. I'm sure his arm gets better and better as time goes on. I'm excited to see how he bounces back,” Semien added.

The Rangers' and Astros' do-or-die Game 7 battle begins at 8:03 PM E.T. later tonight with Max Scherzer dueling against Cristian Javier. Scherzer also started against the Astros in a Game 7, back in the 2019 World Series, wherein Mad Max's Washington Nationals came out on top. Will he be able to repeat this feat?