On Friday, Max Scherzer had a chance to hit a major milestone against the Cleveland Guardians.
He was one strikeout away from 3,500 for his career. If he had hit that mark, he would also be only nine strikeouts from being No. 10 on MLB’s all-time list.
Instead, he did not hit either mark, failing to record a strikeout in 2 1/3 innings and allowing seven runs and six hits.
Three of those hits — including from the very first batter he faced — were home runs. That makes it the first time this season a pitcher has allowed three homers without getting a strikeout, per Stathead.
The early homer was only part of an uncharacteristically rough start for Scherzer, who allowed five runs the in first inning.
Scherzer held the score in the top of the second, but allowed a two-run homer from Angel Martínez , his second of the game, in the third. The homer came after a grueling 11-pitch at-bat in which the Guardians center fielder hit seven straight foul balls before Scherzer threw three balls to bring the count to full. Martínez then sent the next ball into deep right field to send him and Rhys Hoskins home.
Right afterward, Scherzer was pulled from the game and relieved by Joe Mantiply. The Blue Jays picked up a couple more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to bring the team closer to the Guardians’ lead, but Cleveland went on to win the game 8-6.
Scherzer was close to becoming the 11th player in MLB history to hit 3,500 career strikeouts and just the second active player (alongside the Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander) to hit that mark. But his failure to strike out a batter means that Blue Jays fans will have to wait until his next start to watch Scherzer make history.