Toronto Blue Jays: Max Scherzer dealing with forearm tendinitis
Max Scherzer is dealing with an injury to his pitching arm, but there is hope he will be able to stay in the rotation for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Here’s what you need to know.
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Max Scherzer
Making his second start of the season, Scherzer was pulled after just two innings in Monday’s loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He revealed after the game that he was dealing with right forearm tendinitis.
“I’ve been dealing with this little issue for a couple of weeks, but it’s never been presenting when I’ve been throwing the ball; it’s actually been hurting more when I’m at home,” Scherzer said. “I didn’t want to go to the IL, I just don’t think this is an IL issue where I need to miss two starts. I just needed to guard it today, so we came up with a plan that the most I would do was three innings, 50 pitches.”
The 41-year-old Scherzer said his pulled himself from Monday’s game so he would be able to make his next start this weekend against the Minnesota Twins.
Scherzer finished with two earned runs on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts over two innings on Monday. It followed a great first start of the season in which the future Hall-of-Famer recorded a win on March 31, throwing six innings with one earned run, one walk and four strikeouts.
Scherzer missed significant time with injuries last season, but was at his best in the playoffs. A thumb injury kept him out of the lineup for three months, but he ended up making 17 starts in the regular season and three in the postseason, including Game 7 of the World Series.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays have been decimated by pitching injuries to begin the year. Starters Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Jose Berrios began the year on the IL and Cody Ponce suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury in his first start.
Yesavage, who is pitching in games for high-A Dunedin, is believed to be the closest starter to returning, although Toronto will keep the rookie on a strict pitch limit.
The Jays recently signed veteran Patrick Corbin to plug the hole until the rotation becomes healthier.
Injuries and a 4-6 start haven’t dampened the Blue Jays’ chances too much this season in oddsmakers eyes. Toronto began the year as a top-five World Series favourite at +1300 and they now sit at +1500.
At +500, the Jays remain just behind the Yankees (-125) to win the AL East.