WASHINGTON – George Springer and Max Scherzer clashed six times during the 2019 World Series – the then-Houston Astros star walking three times; the then-Washington Nationals ace getting two flyouts and a strikeout – and the memories are still fresh.
“I mean, he was throwing 99,” Springer recalled. “He had a knack for doing the opposite of what you were thinking he would do. That’s why he is who he is. He was very meticulous with what he did. I believe he said he would rather throw Ball 4 in the dirt than give up a hit, so he was trying to manoeuvre the strike zone a little bit. And here we are today.”
Here is Nationals Park, where the former rivals returned for the first time as Toronto Blue Jays teammates Monday, seven years removed from that Fall Classic won in seven games by the Nationals. Last year, of course, they teamed up to help bring the Blue Jays within inches of a title, while the club’s plans for a return engagement this season have gone badly awry, leaving what comes next for the veteran duo, and the club, up in the air.
They are in control of their fates with no-trade protection – Springer as a player with 10 years of service time, five with the same team; Scherzer through a clause in his contract – and neither cares to speculate about what might happen before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
“I’m here and I’m going to be here and be in the moment – you can’t let anything that’s X amount of days away affect that,” said Springer. “I play for the Toronto Blue Jays. I love this team and I always have. …
“I believe in this team,” he added. “I believe in the guys in the locker-room and I know that we’re going to fight. So we’ll cross that (deadline) bridge when we get to it. But I believe in the guys in that locker-room.”
A 3-2 victory in the opener of a three-game set versus the Nationals was the type of effort Blue Jays players continue to believe they can produce on a more regular basis.
Scherzer, reinstated from the injured list before the game on his 42nd birthday, worked around four hits and three walks to allow only one run in 2.2 innings, while greeted by standing ovations before and after his outing. Six relievers, including Louis Varland in the ninth for his 22nd save, took it from there, making a Luis Urias homer and Ernie Clement RBI double in the third, and a Myles Straw RBI single in the fourth stand up.
Their difficulties in maintaining success over an extended period explain why the Blue Jays are 49-58 and facing a subtraction deadline in which all their players on expiring contracts, Scherzer and Springer included, are being watched by other clubs.
“Look, our record is our record. It’s frustrating as heck that we’re in this position,” said Scherzer. “But we’re professionals. We have a job to do. Every day we come here, we’ve got to win. We got to go one-and-oh every day. You get caught up in the distractions of everything that’s going on around us right now, that’s just not the way you play big-league baseball. You’ve got to do everything you can to win every single day. That’s the mentality we have in the clubhouse, kind of let the other stuff just be noise.”
Scherzer has made several other returns to Washington since the Nationals traded him and Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 30, 2021, for a package that includes Keibert Ruiz, who went 0-for-4 catching Monday.
But how many more visits he makes is uncertain, which is perhaps why he called this one “a touch more nostalgic” and fans feted him as he took the mound, an ovation Straw described as “unreal” and “deserved for what he’s done with that franchise over there.” The Blue Jays gave him time to run out alone so the crowd could acknowledge him, and he waved to the stands on his way off the field.
“It’s special,” said Scherzer. “I’ve got a lot of great memories here in DC, so the fans, I wanted to show them respect as well because they were cheering the whole time, even when I was warming up. Very appreciative of the fans here.”
While the crowd of 17,618 didn’t see vintage Scherzer on the mound, they saw him look the best he’s been since he allowed two runs over six innings versus Arizona on April 18. Against the Nationals, he sat 93.7 m.p.h. with his fastball, topped out at 95.3 m.p.h., and got four of his six whiffs with his changeup, prompting manager John Schneider to say that “he can still get outs, he’s still got enough velo and enough stuff, just got to put in the right spot.”
Which is something Scherzer did better against the Nationals, striking out four to sit at 3,507 for his career, creeping within range of Walter Johnson’s 3,515 for 10th all-time.
“I thought my fastball was good today … it was jumping on them, so that allowed the other pitches to work well,” said Scherzer, who’ll look to build on this start Saturday, when his turn next comes up. “Every time out it should be a bit better, a little bit better, little bit better executions. If I can get that going, I know I can still compete at this level at the highest level and compete against anybody. So, it should be fun for me in the second half here.”
Other teams will get one more look at Scherzer before the trade deadline to decide whether to agree, but either way, the Blue Jays will be hoping that holds true, for him individually, and collectively for the team.
