CINCINNATI – Max Scherzer’s first pitch to Reds leadoff hitter Jonathan India was a 94 mph fastball that fell in for a strike. Catcher James McCann immediately tossed the ball back to Scherzer, who was working quicker than even his usual brisk pace. Right back to work, Scherzer offered another fastball, and then another. An audible “dammit” escaped from Scherzer when he missed his spot and delivered a ball.
No matter Scherzer’s personal assessment of that initial at-bat, in truth the batter never stood a chance. He struck India out on five pitches, and the first inning came to an end just a moment later. That’s how Scherzer’s return from the injured list went on, featuring dominance and command, with a certain rhythm that only a three-time Cy Young award winner can possess.
Scherzer struck out 11 in six shutout innings and 79 pitches in the Mets’ 1-0 loss to the Reds on Tuesday night at Great American Ballpark. He gave up no runs and no walks and allowed just two hits in his sharpest outing since the end of April, when he hurled seven scoreless innings and struck out 10 in St. Louis. His season ERA is 2.26.
Sign the Mets up for a performance like that every fifth day.
Scherzer’s odyssey back to the rotation from his longest-career stint on the injured list featured seven weeks sidelined with an oblique strain, a dog bite on his pitching hand, two rehab starts, a steak and lobster dinner plus headphones for Mets minor leaguers, and a rain delay.
Mother Nature delayed Scherzer’s eventual dominance by 53 minutes. Though the rain clouds never passed over Great American Ballpark in that precautionary delay, Scherzer’s outing was clearly not affected at all by the late start. The veteran came out firing fastballs and sliders only in a first inning that was over after just nine pitches.
The only thing that held Scherzer back on Tuesday was his innings limit. The Mets did not want to push Scherzer past six innings in his first start in seven weeks, doing whatever was in their power to avoid a setback. Scherzer, of course, also wants nothing more than to stay healthy long enough to help bring a championship back to Queens for the first time in 36 years.
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Source: Berkshire mont