14 K's, 0 walks: Scherzer in vintage form just 3 starts into Spring Training

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- So this is what a healthy Max Scherzer looks like.

Scherzer, 40, got six different Tigers to go down swinging in 3 1/3 innings of one-hit scoreless pitching in the Blue Jays’ 5-0 win at TD Ballpark on Saturday afternoon, while a split squad fell to the Phillies, 5-4, at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater. And he got those punchouts on four different pitches: two 94 mph four-seamers, two changeups, one slider and one curve.

When Toronto manager John Schneider came to take out Scherzer after 49 pitches (38 strikeouts), All-Star first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. applauded while pounding his glove and shouting compliments to the right-hander.

After three starts for his new team, Scherzer has an impressive pitching line: nine innings, 14 strikeouts, zero walks, three hits and two earned runs.

Wow.

Scherzer, who won Cy Young Awards in 2013 with the Tigers and in ‘16 and ‘17 with the Nationals and has won 216 games since debuting in ‘08, is coming off a frustrating season for the Rangers.

Scherzer went 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 2024, and injuries limited him to 43 1/3 innings. Back surgery on a herniated disk held him out of the early going, and then a shoulder flareup and hamstring injury shelved him.

What does it feel like to finally be healthy?

“Um, yeah,” said Scherzer, pausing to smile. “I’ve got a few years of … I know what it’s like to be healthy. I was able to pitch with every pitch, working with [catcher Alejandro] Kirk there to kind of get to the right lanes. I got in my work.”

Scherzer said he’s “not 100 percent locked in” with Kirk after just three starts, but he is confident their rapport will grow.

“The fun starts once the season starts,” added Scherzer.

Scherzer’s patented delivery remains the same. He catches the ball back from the catcher, flips it under-handed out of his glove to his right hand, gets set and begins a rapid-fire motion that ends with a long follow-through punctuated with a shoulder lean.

It’s the same motion that baseball people feared would equate to a short, injury-plagued career. But Scherzer has stayed pretty healthy in his 17 seasons, reaching 30 starts 11 times and throwing 2,878 innings with 3,407 strikeouts (11th all-time) and 756 walks. That computes to a nifty 2.4 walks and 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

How did he prove those injury critics wrong?

“I got the secrets, but I don’t tell ‘em,” said Scherzer. “I’m not going to tell you, but I know what I need to do to deliver the ball safely, healthy, be durable and everything that goes into it. So I share it with my teammates and not the public.”

Scherzer struck out Colt Keith and Jake Rogers with 94 mph fastballs and got Jace Jung and Bligh Madris out in front on changeups. Javier Báez went down swinging on a slider, and Zach McKinstry got fooled on a curve to become Scherzer’s sixth strikeout of the day.

How pleased was he to have his whole arsenal working so early in Spring Training?

“That’s just command,” said Scherzer. “Command of every pitch. So it’s just piecing together and making sure you’re filling up the strike zone and putting the fastball where you want it.

“I’m trying to get my arm built up, using it the right way to come out of this healthy. And I’m looking forward to my next start. … Physically, I’m in a good spot, and that’s all that matters.”

Asked about Scherzer’s effectiveness on all four pitches, Schneider said, “He’s got a variety of different ways to do it. He reads hitters really well. I think him and Kirky are getting closer and closer to being really good on the same page.

“I mean, there’s not really much you can say. The guy’s a Hall of Famer. So I think just kind of reading swings and seeing, understanding where he needs to be with his stuff. He’s just really good. He doesn’t put too much into the results of spring, but he definitely knows how to pitch.”

What does Schneider know about Scherzer now that he didn’t before?

“You know the stuff,” said Schneider. “And what we’ve learned and will continue to learn is the day in, day out, the conversations that he has in between starts with what he’s doing, how he’s feeling. We’re learning about him, and he’s learning about us.

“We all know the competitor that he is when he’s out there. Looking forward to seeing that switch turn on as we get into the regular season. But he’s just really, really intentional with everything that he does. And [he’s] done more than most people have seen.”

Scherzer’s on his way to making Toronto’s one-year, $15.5 million deal with him look like money very well spent.