Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Max Scherzer didn’t have his cleanest outing on Sunday night against the Phillies, but in true Scherzer fashion, he stayed composed and pitched well enough to still earn the win. The Mets bats defended their ace to help him secure his fourth win of the season.
Scherzer threw six innings and gave up four earned runs on five hits, including three home runs and issued one walk in what was his shakiest outing this season thus far. He did, however strike out nine over the course of six innings pitched. He threw 94 pitches (68 for strikes).
Scherzer’s outing started off no differently than how anyone would expect for the top of the first: with three straight strikeouts to retire the Phillies in order.
He opened the second inning in similar fashion, collecting two quick strikeouts before giving up a home run to Kyle Schwarber to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead over the Mets in the second. He then surrendered a two-out single to Alec Bohm before getting out of the inning on a groundout.
Scherzer settled back down in the third. He gave up a one-out single to Jean Segura, but retired the other two batters he faced to get out of the inning.
The Mets had a 2-1 lead over the Phillies heading into the fourth. Scherzer started off well in the inning, getting two quick outs. However he then gave up a walk to J.T. Realmuto immediately followed by a second home run by Schwarber to put the Phillies back on top 3-2. Schwarber had Scherzer’s number on Sunday, connecting well twice to do damage. Scherzer was able to get out of the inning without any further damage being done as Bohm lined out.
Scherzer again settled right back down in the fifth. He retired the Phillies in order and struck out two to get back on track. Those were the first strikeouts Scherzer had collected since the second inning.
Home runs were a nemesis for Scherzer Sunday. The Mets had a 6-3 lead heading into the sixth inning. Scherzer struck out Rhys Hoskins to open the inning before Bryce Harper unloaded for his fourth home run of the season to bring the Phillies within two runs of tying the Mets. Scherzer settled back down and retired the next two batters to keep it a two-run game as he handed the ball and the game over to the Mets’ bullpen for the remainder of the game.
Though he gave up three home runs, Scherzer still had a quality outing and on Sunday, the Mets’ bats supported their ace and allowed him to gain his fourth win of the season.
Scherzer met with the media following the Mets’ 10-6 win over the Phillies. He discussed struggling against Schwarber on Sunday night.
“You just learn from it,” he said. “I know he’s a good hitter. You just learn from it, move on, and come up with a new plan for next time.”
Sunday night also marked the 24th straight start for Scherzer in which his team has also come away with a victory. He described it (the night) as a “great night” because the whole team played a part in helping the team win.
“It’s not about me. It’s not about my stats or anything like that. It’s about going out there and doing everything I can for the team and we come out win a win,” Scherzer stated.
