TORONTO \u2014 When the Toronto Blue Jays clinched a trip to the World Series, veteran pitcher Max Scherzer was emotional about getting another chance to play in the Fall Classic.<\/p>\n
Scherzer will be Toronto\u2019s starter for Game 3 of the World Series on Monday when Major League Baseball\u2019s championship moves to Los Angeles, meaning he\u2019ll pitch in the World Series for a fourth time.<\/p>\n
The teams split the first two games in Toronto, with the Jays winning Game 1 11-4 and the defending champion Dodgers bouncing back in Game 2 with a 5-1 victory.<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old Scherzer said it was \u201cawesome\u201d when Blue Jays manager John Schneider confirmed that he\u2019d be returning to the mound on the game\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what you play for, to be able to get to this spot, to get to this moment, to have a shot at it,\u201d said Scherzer before Game 2 at Rogers Centre. \u201cThere\u2019s so many great players that have never gotten to a World Series, so many great players where they only have one World Series. <\/p>\n
\u201cI absolutely respect playing in a World Series, what that means, and absolutely cherish these opportunities. When I get a chance to get the ball, man, this means everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The right-hander has a 221-117 record over 18 MLB seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles, New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Toronto. He has a 3.22 earned-run average over his career with 3,489 strikeouts.<\/p>\n
Scherzer has won the Cy Young Award three times, being recognized as the best pitcher in the American League in 2013 with Detroit and then in the National League in 2016 and 2017 with Washington. He\u2019s an eight-time all-star and has won the World Series twice, with the Nationals and Texas.<\/p>\n
But more than that, Scherzer is a fan of the game and its history.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time you think you can figure out baseball and put it into an equation, baseball has a funny way of shaking that up and making you look at the game in a whole different way,\u201d said Scherzer. \u201cYou can\u2019t make baseball into an equation. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve just got to come every single day ready to play. Anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scherzer was left off Toronto\u2019s roster for the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, but then was tabbed to pitch Game 4 of the AL Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners on Oct. 16. He won the game in Seattle, allowing two runs and striking out five over 5 2\/3 innings.<\/p>\n
Schneider said that it\u2019s been a joy to manage the intense Scherzer who has earned the nickname \u201cMad Max\u201d over his career for his fiery outbursts on and off the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was asking what we were doing after Game 7, and I was like, \u2018Max, I\u2019m enjoying a beer, man,\u2019\u201d laughed Schneider. \u201cHe\u2019s so regimented and wants to know what he\u2019s doing, (because) he\u2019s been through this, too. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s stepped on landmines, he\u2019s dodged landmines in a World Series, in a seven-game series. \u2018Here\u2019s my thought. Here\u2019s my feedback. What are you thinking? OK. When do I throw my side?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Schneider also named Shane Bieber as the Blue Jays starter for Game 4 on Tuesday. Schneider explained some of the strategy behind his starting pitching selections on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think just looking at not having too much of a layoff with Max from his last outing but still giving him some rest,\u201d said Schneider. \u201cHim pitching in that environment (Dodger Stadium) that\u2019s going to be a lot of hoopla, Game 3, much like yesterday \u2014 or any game this series. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s pitched in that stadium. It keeps him available for Game 7.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dodger manager Dave Roberts announced on Saturday that Tyler Glasnow would take the mound in Game 3 and superstar Shohei Ohtani would start Game 4.<\/p>\n
Roberts also managed Scherzer when he was with Los Angeles and he laughed when he was asked what it\u2019s like.<\/p>\n
\u201cMax. He\u2019s one of one. Great competitor. Don\u2019t want to touch him during outings, don\u2019t want to pat him on the back side,\u201d said Roberts. \u201cWants to be the guy. I really enjoyed managing a future Hall of Famer. He\u2019s very smart. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a baseball player first, then a pitcher.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2025.<\/p>\n
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TORONTO \u2014 When the Toronto Blue Jays clinched a trip to the World Series, veteran pitcher Max Scherzer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":241427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-241426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}