Max Scherzer Exits Blue Jays Debut After 3 Innings with Lat Injury

Max Scherzer exited his Toronto Blue Jays debut against the Baltimore Orioles after three innings with right lat soreness, the team announced Saturday.

Scherzer threw 45 pitches before exiting. The Blue Jays originally planned for him to throw around 80, per MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.

Scherzer allowed the Orioles to hit two home runs in the first inning. The game was tied 2-2 at the time of his exit.

The first home run of the afternoon came on Scherzer's second pitch of the day, a 91.6 mile-per-hour fastball hit into center field by Colton Cowser.

Scherzer allowed another home run on his fourth batter faced after sending an 84 mile-per-hour slider to Jordan Westburg.

He later settled down the game and struck out one Orioles batter before his early exit.

Scherzer, 40, has already battled injury ahead of his first season with the Blue Jays while dealing with right thumb soreness this spring.

The injury cause issues for Scherzer when he hit around 50 pitches in spring games, he previously told MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.

"The critical thing I’ve learned over the years here is that your thumb is absolutely critical to your arm health," Scherzer told Matheson earlier this month. "Unfortunately, this is what I’ve been dealing with since 2023.”

Scherzer added: "The danger of pitching with this is that you could sustain a shoulder injury."

Right thumb soreness was connected to the teres major (upper arm) strain that caused Scherzer to miss the end of his 2023 regular season with the Texas Rangers, Matheson reported.

If Scherzer is forced to miss any time, Yariel Rodríguez could help fill in by slotting into the bottom of the rotation. Toronto will hope for a quick bounce-back from a starter whose offseason signing was meant to help the club contend in what could be a final campaign with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.