Four years after finding himself in the same situation with the Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer will try again in Game 7 to beat the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
This time, however, that ultimate meeting will take place in the American League Finals and not the World Series.
As Sportsnet points out, despite the similarities, the situation in 2023 is much different than it was in 2019 for the three-time Cy Young Trophy winner.
At the time, he was coming off a strong season in which he received team MVP votes and appeared in his seventh consecutive All-Star Game. Scherzer hasn’t had nearly as much success this year. The 39-year-old pitcher, who was traded from the New York Mets to the Texas Rangers after a particularly difficult start to the season, is recovering from a right shoulder injury that caused him to miss the end of the regular season.
In his return for Game 3 of the series against the Astros, the right-hander suffered the loss, allowing five runs in four innings of work.
A worthy opponent
On the Astros’ side, Cristian Javier will be manager Dusty Baker’s right-hand man to start the game. Despite coming off the worst regular season of his career, the Dominican pitcher has an impressive playoff record during his Major League Baseball career.
Among the 35 active players who pitched at least 40 innings in the playoffs, he was the one who maintained the lowest earned run average at 2.08.
The Astros could be without pitcher Bryan Abreu, who is suspended for two games after Game 5 of the series. He was able to play the sixth game as he appealed his case, but could be forced to miss the seventh game if the circuit decides to uphold his suspension. A decision is expected before Monday’s meeting.