ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers right-hander Max Scherzer was scratched from his second scheduled rehab start Tuesday because of thumb soreness.
The soreness is similar to what Scherzer experienced last year before being sidelined for the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs for the World Series champion Rangers.
Scherzer is rehabbing from surgery in mid-December to repair a herniated disk in his lower back, and he said that isn’t giving him any issues.
“I’m frustrated. You want to be out there pitching. I’ve put myself in a position to get back out there,” Scherzer said. “Coming off the back surgery, I’ve jumped through every hoop and really been putting myself in position to help the team out sooner than anybody thought. And the reason I’m not going out there is a thumb injury.”
Texas manager Bruce Bochy classified it as a “minor setback” for the three-time Cy Young Award winner.
“You’re talking days, not weeks,” Bochy said.
The 39-year-old Scherzer had been scheduled to start for Double-A Frisco at Corpus Christi on Tuesday night. That was six days after the eight-time All-Star threw 52 pitches into the third inning of his first rehab start for Triple-A Round Rock.
Scherzer said the inside ligament on his right thumb bothered him some in a simulated game before that, but he was able to manage in the start for Round Rock. Things changed in the past few days while preparing to start another game.
“Coming out of the bullpen, it was just going to get worse. And then it was starting to leak into the forearm. The forearm was starting to get tight on me,” Scherzer said. “Just need a couple days to let everything breathe, get everything back underneath me. There’s nothing really structurally wrong. It’s just some discomfort and just need to let it subside so nothing bad happens.”
The Rangers acquired Scherzer from the Mets in a deadline trade last July after the pitcher agreed to opt in on the final year of his contract for this season at $43.3 million. New York is paying $30.83 million of that to Texas in twice-monthly installments.
After the trade, Scherzer was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts for the Rangers, the last in the regular season Sept. 12 before being sidelined by a muscle strain in his shoulder. He returned to make two starts in the American League Championship Series, then Game 3 of the World Series before exiting after three innings because of his back.
Scherzer said Tuesday he had some thumb soreness in the regular season last year that became forearm tightness and led to the shoulder issue.
“That was the progression last year, and this was starting to mimic it,” Scherzer said.
As for the rehab of his back and how it was recovering, Scherzer said he had the kind of velocity he would have in spring training in the start for Round Rock. He said it was a normal ramp-up in an effort to get back into the Rangers’ rotation.
His 3,367 career strikeouts are the most among active pitchers, and he is second on the active list with 214 wins and 448 games started.
“We’ll let this thing clear up a little,” Bochy said. “You have to expect these things, especially when a guy’s coming back from a pretty good layoff. The good news is it’s not his back. His thumb’s a little sore, and that will clear up.”
TOKYO — For two days in Japan, it’s the Hanshin Tigers who have looked like the class of the National League.
In another sign that Japanese baseball has never been better, the Tigers capped a two-game sweep over MLB clubs with a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday at the Tokyo Dome.
Even more impressive, the Tigers didn’t give up a run in either game. Daichi Ishii recorded the final out, freezing James Outman for strike three on a 95 mph fastball to cap 18 scoreless innings in a row.
“These two days were priceless,” Hanshin manager Kyuji Fujikawa said through an interpreter.
Hanshin tagged two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell for three runs in the fourth inning when the first two batters reached base before Teruaki Sato smoked a three-run homer into the right-field seats, where a jubilant Tigers fan club erupted in celebration.
On the mound, right-hander Hiroto Saiki threw five dominant innings, giving up just one hit and one walk while striking out seven. Saiki struck out Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to start the game and coaxed a harmless popup from the slugger in the fourth.
“Really good ballclub,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I thought they played really good defense. They can handle velocity, good with the fastball. The starter [Saiki] had major league stuff. Good command, good split. And then Sato, he looks the part. He’s a really impressive baseball player.”
Saiki was one of the best pitchers in Japan last season, finishing with a 13-3 record and a 1.88 ERA over 167⅔ innings. The Tigers had a 74-63 record last season, which was good for second place in Japan’s Central League.
The Tigers started the two-game sweep with a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday after 20-year-old lefty Keito Mombetsu threw five perfect innings. No Cubs player reached base until Miguel Amaya smacked a single through the infield in the sixth that just got past the shortstop.
Hanshin also dominated on the basepaths against the Cubs, going 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.
“They clearly showed they can play at the top level,” Roberts said.
Japanese players have made a huge mark on MLB, particularly over the past three decades. Former Mariners star Ichiro Suzuki was recently elected to the Hall of Fame, and this week’s Tokyo Series features five Japanese players, including three on the Dodgers with Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.
Skenes is coming off a dominant performance in his first season in the majors. The 22-year-old right-hander went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts for Pittsburgh in 2024, winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
The Pirates posted a video on social media on Saturday that showed Shelton informing Skenes of his decision.
In the video, Skenes walks into Shelton’s office and answers a couple questions about how his bullpen went and how he was feeling. Shelton later got up from behind his desk and informed Skenes he would be starting March 27 at Miami. He shook hands with Skenes and gave him a hug.
“Congrats, brother,” Shelton said to the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
“Appreciate it,” Skenes responded.
The 22-year-old Skenes has been working on incorporating a cutter and a running two-seam fastball to go along with his blazing four-seam fastball.
The Ottawa Senators have opened up a nice gap as the first wild card, with 75 points and 26 regulation wins in 65 games. Beyond them, things get interesting.
If it comes down to the regulation-wins tiebreaker at season’s end, the Rangers have an upper hand over all the rest, with 29 in that column, compared with 23 for the Jackets, Red Wings and Bruins, and just 22 for the Habs.
The Canadiens host the Panthers also at 7 p.m. (NHL Network)
The Blue Jackets face the visiting Rangers also at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
And if they have their sights set on catching the Senators, these clubs are all rooting for the Maple Leafs, who host Ottawa (7 p.m., ESPN+). It’s a great night for multiple streaming devices!
There is a lot of runway left until April 17, the final day of the regular season, and we’ll help you track it all with the NHL playoff watch. As we traverse the final stretch, we’ll provide details on all the playoff races, along with the teams jockeying for position in the 2025 NHL draft lottery.
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 75.9 Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 22
Points: 45 Regulation wins: 13 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 15 Points pace: 55.1 Next game: vs. WSH (Saturday) Playoff chances: ~0% Tragic number: 5
Race for the No. 1 pick
The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so the team that finishes in last place is not guaranteed the No. 1 selection. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if it wins the lottery, so only 11 teams are eligible for the No. 1 pick. Full details on the process are here. Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman for the OHL’s Erie Otters, is No. 1 on the draft board.