Mets’ star Max Scherzer to pitch in Hartford on Tuesday
Max Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner working his way back from an oblique injury to rejoin the Mets rotation, will take a detour through Hartford this week.
According to SNY-TV, Scherzer will make what could be his last minor league rehab start Tuesday for Double A Binghamton, which comes to Dunkin’ Donuts Park to start a six-game series against the Yard Goats.
“I cannot have a setback,” Scherzer told reporters in Miami this weekend. “I have got to come back healthy. I cannot have a setback. I understand that and will pitch when I am ready to pitch.”
Scherzer, 37, who signed with the Mets last offseason, was 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA when he left a game against the Cardinals May 18 with tightness in his side, later diagnosed as a strained oblique. After rest and gradually ramped-up throwing, he made a rehab start for Binghamton last Tuesday, throwing 65 pitches, 3 1/3 innings. It was thought he might return to the majors on Sunday, but it was decided he should make another start in the minors and David Peterson pitched for the Mets instead.
“I just hit a plateau in this,” Scherzer told reporters. “I am trying to pitch and do rehab at the same time, so coming out after that start, doing a core routine afterwards, throwing a bullpen, doing a core routine, it was a lot and I got a little sore.”
Normally, teams like to have major leaguers play rehab games in their affiliates’ home parks, but the quality of the facilities at Dunkin’ Donuts Park and its proximity to New York and Boston has made it an ideal place for Yankees, Mets and Red Sox players to play and team management to evaluate their progress.
The Mets, who began play Sunday with a 47-26 record and a five-game lead over the Braves in the NL East, have held onto first place despite missing Scherzer for six weeks and their No.1 pitcher, Jacob deGrom, the entire first half of the season with a shoulder injury. Getting both back will be a major boost.
Scherzer, a righthander, who has pitched for the Diamondbacks, Tigers, Nationals and Dodgers, has a 195-98 record and 3.15 ERA across 15 seasons. An All-Star eight times, he won the Cy Young in the AL in 2013, the NL in 2016 and 18, and helped the Nationals win the World Series in 2019. Last December, he signed a three-year, $130 million contract with the Mets, the highest average annual value ($43.3 million) in baseball history.
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com
