The Latest, June 18

Editorial Staff / 2 minutes
June 19, 2025
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3 min read

TORONTO — John Schneider called Max Scherzer’s start for the Buffalo Bisons last Friday the “most watched triple-A game in a while for me.”

The Toronto Blue Jays manager amended that statement on Wednesday afternoon while chatting with media in his office at Rogers Centre.

“Probably today’s (the) second-most or maybe takes the top spot,” Schneider said with a grin.

His comments underscored the importance of Wednesday’s rehab start for Scherzer, who’s nearing a return to the Blue Jays’ rotation after a long recovery from a right thumb issue that’s limited him to just three innings for the big-league club.

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Scherzer proceeded to toss 4.1 innings on 75 pitches Wednesday evening for the Bisons, who defeated the Boston Red Sox’s triple-A affiliate, 14-1, at Polar Park in Worcester, Mass. Interestingly, right-hander Tanner Houck took the mound for the Red Sox in a matchup of major-league right-handers on rehab stints.

This marked Scherzer’s second start for the Bisons, and, from both a pitch count and velocity perspective, it was an improvement over his output last Friday. The righty sat at 92.5 m.p.h. with his fastball while topping out at 94.2 m.p.h. He mixed in his curveball, cutter, changeup and slider to generate 11 whiffs on 36 swings.

The 40-year-old was sharp in the first inning, striking out two batters and working around a walk to big-leaguer Wilyer Abreu, who was also making a rehab appearance.

He was even more impressive in the second frame, mowing down all three Red Sox hitters with swinging strikeouts.

In total, Scherzer allowed just one hit during the scoreless outing, walking two and striking out eight.

“I looked at the reports (but) haven’t spoken to him yet,” Schneider said following the Blue Jays’ 8-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. “I’ll get in touch with him later tonight. But the line was great and what I saw on video looked really good, too.

“It’s 75 pitches on the dot, which is pretty cool,” added the skipper. “They took him out on a 1-0 count — sounds like something Max would do.”

Additionally, outfielder Nathan Lukes, who was placed on the seven-day concussion list by the Blue Jays last week, collected three hits and five RBIs, highlighted by a three-run home run in the fifth inning off right-hander Jose De Leon.

Scherzer will likely rejoin the Blue Jays for his next start, which could come on Tuesday against the Guardians in Cleveland. Given Monday’s off day, that would ensure the veteran right-hander has five days of rest between outings.

“That’d be good,” acknowledged Schneider earlier on Wednesday. “I know he talked about that in spring, kind of having like an extra day before you get

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