Max Scherzer went almost a full calendar year without taking a loss, but as they say, all good things must come to an end – and his unbeaten streak did just that on Sunday.
The Mets’ 3-2 loss to Philly in Game 1 of Sunday’s doubleheader was charged to Scherzer, his first loss since May 30, 2021 – a span of 24 starts and 343 calendar days.
“Heck of a run. Obviously it takes your teammates to be able to do that but it’s also cool to be a part of it,” Scherzer said of the streak. “That’s your job as a starting pitcher, to give your team a chance to win and to pitch deep in a ballgame. Over the past handful of starts I’ve been doing that, at least giving them a chance to win and they’ve been picking me up. It’s always been a team stat but it’s good to have a role in it.”
Scherzer was 4-0 in his first five starts to begin his Mets career, and he was 11-0 from June through October last season in 19 starts, eight for Washington and 11 for the Dodgers. Even his last loss was a quality start, six innings of two-run ball in a 3-0 Nationals loss to Milwaukee last May 30.
But 25 in a row was not to be, as even on extra rest following two rainouts, Scherzer allowed a season-high 10 hits, five with an exit velocity of less than 80 MPH, and his third start against Philly was a “grind.”
“Today was just a grind, trying to navigate through their lineup again. I made a mistake to [Bryce] Harper but I was executing pitches,” Scherzer said. “It’s part of baseball to get hits to fall in but I felt I did a good job of not walking anybody, keeping my pitch count round so I can go out there for the sixth and try to give some type of length.”
"That was impressive," manager Buck Showalter added. "Six days off, third time he's faced a team this season already, couldn't grip the baseballs – f r Max to work his way through six, I think they had two hard-hit balls off him the whole day. Just one of those days where balls fell on."
Scherzer wouldn’t blame the cool and blustery conditions, either, because all seven pitchers who took the mound had to deal with it.
“They had to deal with it as well,” Scherzer said. “I don’t sit here and complain about conditions when the other team has to do it. Just something you have to deal with. You have to be able to adapt to anything. This is baseball. You have to be able to go out there and compete I won’t make excuses for anything. My job is to compete and win under any circumstances and any conditions.”
Despite the loss, it was Scherzer’s fourth quality start in six outings this year and 18th in that span of 26 starts around the losses. The 24-start streak is tied for the sixth-longest in the Modern Era – Roger Clemens went 30 straight from June 3, 1998 to June 1, 1999 to set the record – but Scherzer just wants to move forward.
“Obviously, I’m frustrated to lose. I’m going to try and rework some things, but if you always beat yourself up if you lose and not take away what was good then that’s not productive as well,” Scherzer said. “I need to pitch better.”
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