Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer (31) throws against the Kansas City Royals during first inning MLB baseball action in Toronto, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

TORONTO — Max Scherzer delivered a much-needed classy performance for the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday.

The 41-year-old Scherzer (2-1) allowed one run over six innings to lift the Blue Jays (65-47) to a 4-2 win against the Kansas City Royals (55-56) for only Toronto's second win in seven outings.

The American League East-leading Blue Jays' pitching staff allowed 15 homers in the previous six-game funk.

The future Hall of Famer did allow a two-out solo homer to Salvador Perez in the sixth inning, but he yielded only five hits with no walks and five strikeouts before 41,842 at Rogers Centre.

"Max set the tone," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. "There was just the one mistake to Perez.

"His stuff is kind of back to where it should be. He can be a difference maker down the stretch. He's been trending in the right direction."

Scherzer has been stymied by a right thumb issue in 2025. This was his ninth start since missing three months with the ailment.

Although he claims to be getting stronger and he continues to build up strength in his troubled right thumb and area, Scherzer departed Saturday's game after only 85 pitches because of a "fatigued" right hand.

"In the sixth inning, I was gassed," said Scherzer, who tossed a season-high 96 pitches in seven innings in a loss to Detroit last Sunday. "It's not my shoulder, not my elbow, not my back. My hand was very fatigued today."

Scherzer also had to overcome the loss of catcher Tyler Heineman, who left after three innings because of a sore jaw as a result of taking a foul ball off his mask.

Scherzer is meticulous about his preparation and game plan. So he huddled with backup Ali Sanchez and pitching coach Pete Walker in the tunnel leading to the Blue Jays dugout before the fourth inning.

"It definitely throws you a curveball when that happens," Scherzer said. "I haven't worked with Ali at all. So you try to get on the same page, like, 'Hey, this is where we're at in the order and what we've been doing. This is what we want to try to do.'"

Sanchez was promoted to the Blue Jays last week when Alejandro Kirk suffered a concussion. He's expected to return to the lineup for the series finale against the Royals on Sunday.

Scherzer relied on a similar situation when he was with the 2019 World Series-champion Washington Nationals. Yan Gomes suffered a mid-game injury and had to be replaced by Kurt Suzuki.

"You rely on instincts of what's going on within the game," Scherzer said. "Ali did great. He came in and called a great game. He had good targets. He had good everything.

"We won the ball game because he came in and did his job."

HIT MACHINE

Bo Bichette drove in the final run of the Blue Jays' three-run third inning with a single to right field. It was the first of a three-singles game to increase his hit total to a MLB-leading 137.

In his last 23 games, Bichette is hitting .400 with 13 doubles, two homers, 18 RBIs and 13 runs scored.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2025.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2025