Max Scherzer Turns Back Time in Blue Jays’ ALCS Game 4 Win Over Mariners
SEATTLE – Max Scherzer reminded baseball fans — and his manager — that he still has fire in his arm and ice in his veins. In a defining moment of the Toronto Blue Jays’ postseason, the 41-year-old right-hander delivered a gritty, vintage performance to lead his club to an 8–2 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Thursday night.
Scherzer’s start marked his first postseason win in six years, and it couldn’t have come at a more critical time for the Jays, who now hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
A Fiery Confrontation on the Mound
The turning point came in the fifth inning.
With two outs and Scherzer nearing 70 pitches, Blue Jays manager John Schneider made the slow walk to the mound. But Scherzer wasn’t having it.
“No!” he shouted, loud enough to echo through T-Mobile Park. The veteran had a point to make — and a few more batters to face.
Schneider, sensing his starter’s determination, didn’t push. “He started with, ‘I’m good’,” the manager recounted postgame. “I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And, well… you could probably read his lips.”
Scherzer responded with conviction, and Schneider responded with trust. “I told him to execute,” Schneider added, smiling. “And he did.”
Scherzer Delivers When It Counts
Sidelined earlier in the season with a thumb injury and omitted from the Division Series roster, Scherzer’s 2025 campaign had been marked by frustration and inconsistency. But when the moment demanded it, “Mad Max” delivered.
Through 5 2/3 innings, Scherzer allowed just two earned runs — one on a second-inning solo homer by Josh Naylor, and another in the sixth — while striking out five. It was his longest postseason outing since 2021, and arguably his sharpest performance of the year since late August.
“I looked up and saw I was at 69, maybe 70 pitches,” Scherzer said after the game on FS1’s postgame show. “My arm felt great. I knew the situation, knew who was coming up, and I wanted the ball. I wasn’t going to let it go — not in that moment.”
Scherzer closed out the fifth by striking out Randy Arozarena, then returned for the sixth and recorded two more outs before exiting to a standing ovation from the Blue Jays dugout.
The Jays Ride Momentum
Toronto’s offense backed Scherzer early, jumping to a 5-1 lead and never looking back. The Blue Jays are now one win away from returning to the World Series for the first time since 1993.
It was the kind of moment the organization envisioned when it signed Scherzer, even at 41 — a veteran ace capable of delivering under pressure and pushing back against time, injuries, and even his own manager.
“That’s what big-game pitchers do,” Schneider said. “They rise when it matters most. And Max? He reminded everyone tonight who he still is.”
What’s Next?
With a commanding 3-1 series lead, the Blue Jays will have a chance to clinch the AL pennant in Game 5 on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET.
If Toronto finishes the job, much of the credit will go to the veteran who refused to leave the mound — and, in doing so, refused to let his team lose.
