Scherzer goes two innings, strikes out four in Blue Jays debut
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The Toronto Blue Jays got their first look at new pitching acquisition Max Scherzer in their Spring Training game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
Scherzer, 40, pitched two innings, striking out four while allowing a run on one hit.
The three-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star joined the Blue Jays on a one-year deal late in the off-season worth $15.5 million.
Scherzer's day started off rough, as Victor Scott connected on an inside fastball and sent the ball deep to centrefield. Joey Loperfido was injured trying to make the catch, and the ball dropped for a leadoff triple.
Alec Burleson followed by sending a flyball to right field on a full count for a sacrifice fly, but Scherzer locked in after that.
The future Hall of Famer recorded his first strikeout in the first inning against Lars Nootbaar, and followed that with a strikeout on an inside slider against Nolan Gorman.
Scherzer recorded four of his six outs via strikeout before giving way to Bowden Francis to start the third inning.
Scherzer's fastball sat around 93 mph, while his slider was tracked in the mid-80s.
The veteran of 17 MLB seasons was slowed by a back injury a year ago, when he pitched to a 3.95 earned-run average in only nine starts.
"I'm right where I need to be," Scherzer said. "I'll be out here in a live (batting practice) soon and then games after that. As of right now, I've had a great off-season and I'm looking forward to getting back out there."
Scherzer, a two-time World Series champion with the Washington Nationals (2019) and Texas Rangers (2023) said he joined the team with aspirations to compete for a third title to add to his decorated career.
“I’m not just playing to play. I’m playing to win,” Scherzer said earlier in February. “I really feel like Toronto offered that.”