Apr 17, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer (21) watches game action against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers
(New York, NY) — What many Mets fans hoped would be a dream year has turned into a nightmare in the early 2023 MLB season.
The team announced that Max Scherzer (neck) won’t start on Friday against the Nationals.
“Max threw out to 90 feet today,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said before Thursday’s series finale at the Cincinnati Reds. “He’s improving each day, so it’s a matter of ‘when.’ We want to get him up on the mound and make sure that’s okay.”
Showalter wasn’t able to say for sure when Scherzer will return to the bump from, but the Mets ace was unable to play catch (neck spasms) on Wednesday. He did however throw off flat ground on Thursday.
It’s not the first time he has dealt with neck spasms — he missed a start in the 2019 World Series with the Nationals because of the ailment.
“It’s easy to be frustrated about it, but at the end of the day it’s nothing I did,” Scherzer said. “It wasn’t like I was doing something stupid or something like that. There is no second-guessing on anything I have done. It just happened.”
Tylor Megill or Joey Lucchesi are now in line to pitch on Friday. There’s still a chance the three-time Cy Young winner will be able to pitch in the series against Washington, and it looks like he’ll be able to avoid a stint on the injured list.
Across five starts and just 22.2 innings of work this season, Scherzer has gone 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA. Hopefully this isn’t the start of a breakdown for the 38-year-old.
The Mets (18-19) already find themselves seven games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.
