-Ed-Mulholland-USA-TODAY-Sports-2023-05-08T153921.510
(New York, NY) — Max Scherzer will be pitching in pain on Tuesday at Cincinnati. Just below his right scapula, around his shoulder blade area, will flare up with sharp discomfort whenever he lets the ball fly.
“I’m doing everything I can to get through this without having it linger through the rest of the season,’’ Scherzer said before the team left for the road trip. “I’m in a good spot… I’m not going backward [with the injury], I’m moving forward. That’s the good part.”
But he has not looked like he’s moving forward with his performance. Scherzer was wrecked by Detroit for six runs coming on eight hits and two homers in his first start back from a 10-game ban for using a banned substance. His velocity wasn’t there and he was duly punished.
“That outing sucked, but I didn’t get hurt,’’ Scherzer said. “The first part of progress of getting through an injury is being able to pitch and not get hurt.”
But how long is it survival mode for a man–and a team–looking like they’re drowning? And how long will Scherzer stick to his guns about pitching while hurt?
“Just don’t break,’’ Scherzer said of his goal. “I’m trying like hell not to join the IL. I’m fighting through this and doing everything I can. But this is the big leagues and no one cares if you’re hurt. You’ve got to go out there and perform, so I get it.”
GM Billy Eppler blamed Scherzer’s struggles in part on an irregular workload due to injury and the suspension. He also acknowledged that perhaps the most surprising aspect of the Mets slow start to the season has been the underperformance of their starting rotation.
If the name of the game is not breaking, the Mets and Scherzer have been bent to the brink.
