QUEENS — The latest hurdle in Max Scherzer’s difficult spring with the Mets in 2023 emerged on his thumb over the last week.
A callus on the veteran right-hander’s thumb — which was initially suffered during his previous start in Washington against the Nationals — opened during Sunday afternoon’s outing against the Cleveland Guardians, providing a significant amount of pain with nearly every pitch he threw.
“I equate it to like playing basketball with a sprained ankle,” Scherzer said. “It’s raw skin. It’s a lot of pain but you have to suck it up and go through it. I’d rather pitch in pain and win than not pitch at all.”
That’s exactly what Scherzer did, gutting out six innings of scoreless ball while allowing just three hits with five strikeouts and a walk in the Mets’ 5-4 victory in the first leg of Sunday’s doubleheader.
His outing was fueled by his curveball, which was a pitch he had thrown approximately 50 times over his first six starts of the season with limited results. He hadn’t recorded a single strikeout with the pitch.
But with his velocity down due to the split skin on his thumb, Scherzer found comfort in the secondary pitch, recording three of his five strikeouts with it — all swinging.
“The only thing I could really do was the curveball,” Scherzer said. ‘I shifted the grip on it and, surprisingly enough, when you bring your thumb up on your curveball, it was one of the pain-free pitches I could throw… So because of that, I was able to snap off some good curveballs and use it when I needed it.”
He added that his thumb will be fine by his next scheduled start, though implored that “you’re just going to have one start where it’s miserable.”
Sunday’s outing wasn’t too shabby for the miserable experience.
It was the first time since Opening Day on March 30 down in Miami against the Marlins that Scherzer pitched at least six innings, lowering his season ERA to a still-bloated 4.01. But things finally appear to be trending in the right direction for him after a hectic opening two months of the season.
He had a start pushed back in mid-April due to lingering back soreness before he was suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball when it was deemed the mixture of sweat and rosin on his hand and glove during an April 19 start against the Los Angeles Dodgers was too sticky.
Scherzer was thrashed by the Detroit Tigers upon his return on May 3 before neck spasms sidelined him for an additional 11 days, which included six in a neck brace.
Over his last two starts, he’s allowed just one run on five hits with 11 strikeouts in 11 innings of work.
“I wish things were easy. It’s usually the opposite,” Scherzer said. “This is another part of being a big-leaguer. You’re not always going to feel good. You’re actually going to feel pretty crappy somedays. I feel like I’ve been on a string of this and it’s just part of the game.”
