The streak is over.
Max Scherzer took the loss Sunday to the Philadelphia Phillies, ending his unbeaten run to 24 consecutive starts, which dated back to May 30, 2021.
“Heck of a run. Obviously it takes your teammates to be able to do that but it’s also cool to be a part of it,” Scherzer said after the Mets’ 3-2 loss. “That’s your job as a starting pitcher, to give your team a chance to win and to pitch deep in a ballgame. Over the past handful of starts I’ve been doing that, at least giving them a chance to win and they’ve been picking me up. It’s always been a team stat but it’s good to have a role in it.”
It seemed like it took everything for Scherzer to finally pick up a loss. Not only did two rainouts give the 38-year-old extra rest, something that not every starter likes, but the conditions in Philly were less than ideal with the coolness and wind making it difficult for pitchers to get a grip on the ball.
And even when he made his pitches, it seemed like the Phillies hitters could only hit soft flares into the outfield.
“Today was just a grind. Trying to navigate through their lineup again, but I made a mistake to [Bryce] Harper but I was executing pitches,” Scherzer said of his performance. “It’s part of baseball to get hits to fall in but I felt I did a good job of not walking anybody, keeping my pitch count round so I can go out there for the sixth and try to give some type of length.
Obviously, I’m frustrated to lose, I’m going to try and rework some things but if you always beat yourself up if you lose and not take away what was good then that’s not productive as well. I need to pitch better.”
“One of his better [games], conditions-wise He had six days off, third time he’s faced a team already, really couldn’t grip the ball, evidenced by the number of sliders,” manager Buck Showalter said after the game. “That was good for Max to work his way through six. It's just one of those days where balls fall in. We had balls hit hard, but I was proud of Max, he gave us a chance to win.”
However, the former Cy Young Award winner won’t make excuses for why he gave up three runs on 10 hits Sunday. No matter if he’s asked about the weather or the extra days off, in the end it’s on his own execution.
“You have to be able to adapt to anything. This is baseball. You have to be able to go out there and compete,” Scherzer said. “I won’t make excuses for anything. My job is to compete and win under any circumstances and any conditions.”
Scherzer will look to start another unbeaten streak later this week against the Seattle Mariners.