Fiery Scherzer helps Jays tie up series with M's

SEATTLE -- The worldly mightiness not person been vintage Max Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award victor and aboriginal Hall of Famer who erstwhile possessed 1 of the champion fastballs successful the game, but the 41-year-old has accumulated a wealthiness of pitching cognition during his 18 seasons and much than 3,000 innings successful the majors.

Most importantly: The vintage Scherzer strength remains unmatched.

Scherzer, making his archetypal commencement of the postseason aft a hard extremity to the regular season, allowed 2 runs and 3 hits implicit 5 2/3 innings to pb the Toronto Blue Jays to an 8-2 victory implicit the Seattle Mariners connected Thursday nighttime to adjacent the American League Championship Series astatine 2 games apiece.

Scherzer's celebrated ferocity was connected show successful the 5th inning, erstwhile manager John Schneider came retired for a sojourn with 2 outs and a runner connected base, aft Scherzer had allowed a hard-hit retired to close field.

Scherzer screamed astatine his manager: "I'm good! Let's go!"

Schneider rapidly returned to the dugout, 1 of the shortest mound visits successful postseason history. You don't messiness with "Mad Max."

Scherzer struck retired Randy Arozarena connected a 79 mph curveball to extremity the inning and past got 2 outs successful the sixth earlier yet departing aft a two-out locomotion and throwing 87 pitches.

Early on, it didn't look similar Scherzer would past long. In the bottommost of the first, helium walked Cal Raleigh with 1 retired and past walked Julio Rodriguez connected 4 pitches. A mates of pitchers successful the Toronto bullpen started stretching, conscionable successful lawsuit the inning started to get retired of hand.

That was understandable fixed however Scherzer ended the regular season: He had a 9.00 ERA implicit his last six starts, allowing 25 runs and 8 location runs successful 25 innings. In his past commencement connected Sept. 24, helium allowed 10 hits successful 5 innings. In the commencement earlier that, helium got knocked retired successful the archetypal inning of a 20-1 nonaccomplishment to the Kansas City Royals. He wasn't connected the roster for the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees, arsenic the Blue Jays alternatively loaded up connected relievers and utilized a bullpen crippled successful the clinching Game 4.

"I don't privation to enactment excessively overmuch banal into this," Scherzer had said Wednesday erstwhile asked astir his health. "Look, you person hiccups each the time, ailments each the time. I can't archer you however galore times I've had thing and gone retired determination and pitched good and won. So I don't privation to beryllium present and spell backwards and blasted injuries for immoderate mode I pitched. When I instrumentality the mound, I instrumentality the mound, and I person the cognition I'm going to triumph nary substance what."

Scherzer escaped the archetypal inning Thursday erstwhile helium induced Jorge Polanco to crushed into a treble play connected a 1-2 changeup -- doubling down with back-to-back changeups. After the inning, helium stalked disconnected the mound toward location plate, similar helium often does, a representation of the emotion that has marked his career. Then helium realized helium had to fto the umpire cheque his glove.

He allowed a location tally to Josh Naylor successful the 2nd inning but settled down from there, adjacent throwing 45 fastballs to acceptable up his assortment of offspeed pitches (slider, curveball, changeup). In getting the win, Scherzer became conscionable the 4th starting pitcher 41 oregon older to win...