Scherzer gave up four hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings while striking out eight in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros.
Facing a Houston lineup that featured only two big names in Alex Bregman and Jose Abreu, Scherzer appeared to be more than ready for Opening Day. The veteran right-hander has a 14:1 K:BB through 11.2 innings this spring while allowing only one run, and the 38-year-old is showing no signs that his dominance is slipping. Aside from the pandemic season, Scherzer hasn't posted an ERA of 3.00 or higher since 2014, and he's delivered a sub-1.00 WHIP in six of the last eight campaigns.
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Mets' Max Scherzer: Set to start on Opening Day
Rotowire
Scherzer is expected to receive the Mets' Opening Day starting nod March 30 in Miami, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.
The Mets had two excellent choices in Scherzer and Justin Verlander, but it will be "Mad Max" getting the call for the opener. Verlander is set up to take the ball for the team's home opener April 6 versus the Marlins. Scherzer will be matched up against Sandy Alcantara on Opening Day.
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Mets' Max Scherzer: Dominant against Team Nicaragua
Rotowire
Scherzer struck out nine batters over three innings in an exhibition game against Team Nicaragua on Wednesday. The right-hander gave up two runs on a hit and a walk.
Former Royals prospect Cheslor Cuthbert took him deep to lead off the second inning, but otherwise Scherzer was dominant over 68 pitches (48 strikes) against a lineup with very little big-league experience. The 38-year-old threw only 145.1 innings last year in his first campaign with the Mets -- his lowest total over a full season since he became a regular starter in 2009 -- but as long as he can stay healthy there's little reason to think he won't post elite ratios again in 2023.
Mets' Max Scherzer: Tagged for seven unearned Friday
Rotowire
Scherzer gave up seven unearned runs in 2.2 innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals, allowing five hits and striking out one.
The veteran right-hander was having a little fun trying out different strategies to exploit the new pitch clock and use it to his advantage by messing up hitters' timing, but his experiments back-fired in the third inning when he got charged with a balk, and some shaky defense by Luis Guillorme at shortstop contributed to an eight-run frame for Washington. This outing will be long forgotten by the time Opening Day rolls around, and Scherzer's 6:0 K:BB through his first 4.2 spring innings is a far better indicator of where he is in his preparations for the regular season.
Scherzer is scheduled to make his first Grapefruit League start Sunday against the Nationals, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
Scherzer is unlikely to work more than two innings while he pitches in a competitive setting for the first time since Game 1 of the Mets' wild-card round series against the Padres on Oct. 7, when he surrendered seven runs -- including four home runs -- in 4.2 innings. The poor postseason start and a pair of oblique-related stints on the injured list were just about the only blemishes on an otherwise excellent first season in New York for Scherzer, who produced a 2.29 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 173:24 K:BB across 145.1 innings. While those numbers would normally make Scherzer the clear-cut choice for the Opening Day starting nod for the majority of teams, he'll face competition for those duties from Justin Verlander, whom the Mets signed to a two-year, $86 million contract this winter following a Cy Young-winning season in Houston.
