Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
The last time Max Scherzer faced the San Diego Padres—in the 2022 NL Wild Card Round—he had one of the worst starts of his career. In the two games that followed—his first two this season—Scherzer fell apart in the sixth inning, allowing a total of six runs over those two frames. Monday, though, the veteran and leader of the Mets’ rotation seemed to get back on track.
Though not perfect, Scherzer tossed five innings of one-hit, shutout ball against the Padres in the Mets’ eventual 5-0 shutout of their former playoff foes. That simple of a description doesn’t totally capture Scherzer’s start, though. He struggled to efficiently put hitters away, throwing 97 pitches over the five innings. He reached eight full counts and walked three of those hitters. Yet, he held the Padres scoreless.
“I really had all of my off-speed pitches going,” Scherzer said after the game. “I really avoided the big hit.” His last two starts were spoiled by mid-game homers. That didn’t happen this time around, even by a powerful (albeit struggling) Padres lineup. Scherzer said he had some “near misses” with his fastball, which allowed the Padres to “grind me apart.”
“I know what I’m capable of when I pitch and locate,” he said, noting that he’s going to keep grinding to get in mid-season form. “I’m not broken,” he joked. “I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel” after his last start. “I just had to fine-tune some things.”
This language is coming after allowing a total of eight runs in two starts. It’s unlike Scherzer, but he didn’t become a first-ballot Hall of Famer by focusing on results. He focuses on the process. “If you follow the results, you can make yourself go crazy,” he said. ” “You’ve got to be able to reflect on what’s actually happening and where you’re getting beat.” That reflection after his start last week in Milwaukee led to better results Monday. He’ll get to keep fine tuning on Sunday in Oakland.
