Max

Scherzer

Scherzer injured his back during Monday night’s start in Game 3 against the Diamondbacks — having to exit after three scoreless frames. He could have potentially taken the hill again in Game 7 had their been one in the Series, but now he’ll be shelved for the remainder of the season. Burke will add a fresh arm to the Rangers’ bullpen, but it’s unlikely that he’ll see much action.

Scherzer had been dealing — allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out one batter over three shutout innings — but he felt something while warming up before the fourth inning and after conferring with the training staff the choice was made to remove him. The Rangers called upon Jon Gray — who had been scheduled to start Game 4 — to come on to start the fourth inning. Expect the Rangers to have an update on Scherzer’s status shortly.

The 39-year-old hurler had been dealing with a cut across his right thumb, but he feels like he’s got the issue under control — and mentioned some combination of cotton and glue that he has used to take care of the problem. Scherzer hasn’t been sharp so far during the postseason — posting a 9.45 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 6/3 K/BB ratio over 6 2/3 innings of work.

Scherzer, who threw a bullpen session earlier this week without any issues, told reporters that he’s found a way to “throw some cotton in it and some glue,” adding that he “doesn’t think it’s going to be an issue” in the World Series. As Judge Smails famously said in the film Caddyshack, “Well, don’t just stand there, go get some glue.” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy declined to name a starting pitcher for Game 2 of the Fall Classic, which means it’ll either be Scherzer or Jordan Montgomery, who also pitched in relief earlier this week in Texas’s ALCS Game 7 win over the Astros, taking the ball on Saturday evening, depending on their health.

The widely-held expectation here is that Jordan Montgomery will wind up taking the ball on Saturday for the second game of the Fall Classic at Globe Life Field. However, that remains to be officially confirmed after he threw 32 pitches in relief during Monday’s ALCS Game 7 victory over the Astros. The 30-year-old southpaw has been stellar this postseason, recording a pristine 2.16 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 17/4 K/BB ratio across 25 innings (five appearances, four starts). It’s possible the Rangers will go with a bullpen game in an effort to get him and fellow veteran Max Scherzer, who is reportedly dealing with a minor cut on his right hand, some extra rest.

The 39-year-old right-hander walked two and struck out a pair in the abbreviated outing. The Astros scratched out a run against him in the opening inning on an RBI single by Jose Abreu — before Scherzer got Michael Brantley to hit into an inning-ending double play. He then served up a solo homer to Alex Bregman in the third. Overall, he got six swings and misses on just 44 pitches in the contest, posting a CSW of 23 percent. The next time that he takes the ball will come in the World Series. The Rangers will take on the winner of the Diamondbacks and Phillies beginning on Friday.

Pitching for the first time in 36 days, Scherzer gave up a ton of hard contact, surrendering seven batted balls with an exit velocity in excess of 100 mph. The 29-year-old veteran right-hander reeled off an impressive scoreless opening frame before running into trouble with two outs in the second inning when he uncorked a wild pitch with the bases loaded to bring a run home and also surrendered a two-run single to Martín Maldonado. He coughed up a leadoff homer to Jose Altuve to open the third inning and an RBI single to Mauricio Dubón in the ensuing frame before being lifted from the contest after four innings of work. He finished with four strikeouts, issued one walk and also hit one batter. He’s in line to take the ball for a potential Game 7, if the Lone Star State series gets to that point.

Scherzer was technically available in relief last night during Game 1 in Houston, but this always seemed to be the long-term plan. The Rangers will still have Jon Gray, Dane Dunning and Andrew Heaney as options to start Game 4, though they could all be available out of the pen before then.

Scherzer is being considered to start in either Game 3 or Game 4 of the series, but he’ll be available for an inning or two out of the bullpen on Sunday night if the right situation arises. Scherzer has been shelved since mid-September when he landed on the injured list with a right teres major strain.

The veteran right-hander has been working his way back from a teres major strain in his right shoulder he suffered during a start in the middle of September. He tossed a 60-pitch simulated game on Friday and will likely be on a limited workload whenever he takes the mound. Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi are starting the first two games of this exciting series, but Scherzer could be asked to take the ball in Game 3 or 4 when the Rangers head back home to Arlington on Wednesday.