TORONTO — The Blue Jays put right-hander Max Scherzer on the 15-day injured list Sunday because of inflammation in his right thumb. The move comes one day after the three-time Cy Young Award winner left his debut start with Toronto after three innings because of right lat soreness.
Manager John Schneider said Scherzer will visit a hand specialist in the U.S. on Monday.
“Hopefully this kind of resets him and knocks it out,” Schneider said of the persistent thumb issue. “We obviously need him. Elite pitcher, and we want him to feel his best.”
Following Saturday’s 9-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the 40-year-old Scherzer said his lat soreness was directly related to lingering thumb pain that forced him to push back a spring training start earlier this month.
Calling himself “frustrated,” Scherzer said solving the thumb issue is his top priority.
“This thumb is absolutely critical to your arm health,” he said after Saturday’s game. “I’ve got to get this 100% before I pitch again.”
Scherzer signed a one-year, $15.5 million contract in February. He went 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA in nine starts for the Texas Rangers last season, starting the year on the injured list while recovering from lower back surgery. He also had a stint on the injured list with shoulder fatigue and didn’t pitch after Sept. 14 because of a left hamstring strain.
He allowed two runs and three hits Saturday, including two solo home runs. He threw 45 pitches, 28 for strikes. He struck out one and walked none.
Toronto recalled left-hander Easton Lucas and selected lefty Mason Fluharty, both from Triple-A Buffalo. Left-hander Richard Lovelady, who allowed four runs in relief of Scherzer and took the loss against Baltimore on Saturday, was designated for assignment.
The NHL began handing out the Presidents’ Trophy to the team with the best regular-season record beginning in the 1985-86 campaign. In its history, it has been awarded 37 times to 18 clubs.
Those teams have been anything but a shoo-in to win the Stanley Cup, however. Just two clubs in the salary cap era (since 2005-06) have won the Presidents’ Trophy and hoisted the Stanley Cup: the 2007-08 Detroit Red Wings and the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks. Two of the past six Presidents’ Trophy winners have lost in the first round.
So, that’s the challenge ahead for whomever claims the trophy this season. At this juncture, it appears to have been whittled down to one of two teams: the Winnipeg Jets (with 106 points through 74 games) or the Washington Capitals (103 through 73).
From an overall strength of schedule standpoint, the Jets have a more difficult route. According to Stathletes, the win percentage of their remaining opponents is 51.3%, which is 12th toughest. Compare that to 47.3% — the 28th toughest — for the Capitals.
Despite that, Stathletes gives Winnipeg the edge, projecting the Jets for 115.9 points and the Caps for 114.7. It appears this race will come down to the very end!
There are less than three weeks left until season’s end on April 17, 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: 87 Regulation wins: 30 Playoff position: WC2 Games left: 7 Points pace: 95.1 Next game: vs. DET (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 95.5% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 78 Regulation wins: 25 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 86.4 Next game: vs. CGY (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 0.5% Tragic number: 8
Points: 62 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 68.7 Next game: @ CBJ (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 51 Regulation wins: 18 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 56.5 Next game: vs. COL (Wednesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Pacific Division
Points: 98 Regulation wins: 42 Playoff position: P1 Games left: 9 Points pace: 110.1 Next game: vs. EDM (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 91 Regulation wins: 36 Playoff position: P3 Games left: 9 Points pace: 102.2 Next game: vs. WPG (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 99.9% Tragic number: N/A
Points: 81 Regulation wins: 26 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 8 Points pace: 89.8 Next game: vs. SEA (Wednesday) Playoff chances: 3.3% Tragic number: 11
Points: 72 Regulation wins: 23 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 9 Points pace: 80.9 Next game: vs. SJ (Tuesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: 4
Points: 68 Regulation wins: 25 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 7 Points pace: 74.4 Next game: @ VAN (Wednesday) Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Points: 49 Regulation wins: 14 Playoff position: N/A Games left: 9 Points pace: 55.0 Next game: @ ANA (Tuesday Playoff chances: 0% Tragic number: E
Note: An “x” means that the team has clinched a playoff berth. An “e” means that the team has been eliminated from playoff contention.
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.
CINCINNATI — Using the trendy torpedo bat for the first time, Elly De La Cruz had a single, double and two home runs for a career-high seven RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds routed the Texas Rangers14-3 on Monday night.
The torpedo model — a striking design in which wood is moved lower down the barrel after the label and shapes the end a little like a bowling pin — became the talk of Major League Baseball over the weekend, especially after some of the New York Yankees used the model in a resounding sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Aaron Leanhardt, a former physics professor at the University of Michigan who is being credited with the design, says “it’s about the batter, not the bat,” though, and Reds first-year manager Terry Francona agrees.
“I think it’s more the player than the bat,” Francona said of De La Cruz, Cincinnati’s No. 3 hitter. “I said that before the game, and I still do.”
De La Cruz spoke with reporters after the win and was asked about his bat choice, and whether the 3-0 Yankees influenced his decision.
“No,” he said. “It was because of, ‘How’s it feel like?'” And then when asked if he’d use it again, he looked down at the podium and laughed.
It was that kind of night for the Reds, a much-needed effort for a club that dropped two of three games to the San Francisco Giants in the opening series of the season. Brady Singer pitched seven scoreless innings in his Cincinnati debut, and the Reds batted around in the sixth to double their lead to 12-0. And it all started with Matt McLain, who missed the 2024 season because of a shoulder injury. He hit his third home run of the season to give Cincinnati a 2-0 lead in the first.
The 14 runs were Cincinnati’s most since a 19-2 victory over St. Louis on Sept. 29, 2023.
“It’s impressive,” Francona said of McLain. “Because it’s cold out there. But I thought it was good for our whole ballclub. Let them get loose a little bit and have some fun.”
McLain and De La Cruz are viewed as an infusion of youth for a club that believes it can compete in the National League Central. The kind of talent that brought Francona out of retirement.
“Yes,” Francona said when asked if Monday was the type of De La Cruz performance he could marvel at. “And I know I’m on the late show on that.”
And though it’s quite early, De La Cruz is hitting .438 with 6 runs, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base.
“I’m more in control, like more mature,” De La Cruz said of the start to his season. “I feel like I’m more in control, on defense and offense.”
Texas rookie Kumar Rocker struggled against the Reds, allowing six earned runs in three innings for Rangers, who opened with three wins in a four-game series versus the Boston Red Sox. Jake Burger hit his first home run for the Rangers in the ninth.
Cincinnati first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand was hit by a pitch on the wrist in the sixth. He stayed in the dugout for the seventh, and after the win, Francona said he was day-to-day.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly hit for the cycle against the Athletics on Monday night — and even walked twice, too.
Kelly homered in the fourth inning, had a two-run single in the fifth, doubled and walked in the sixth, and tripled in the eighth. He became the first Cubs player to hit for the cycle since Mark Grace on May 9, 1993, against the Padres — before Kelly was even born in 1994.
According to ESPN Research, Kelly is the first player with a cycle in the month of March, and just the 17th catcher with a cycle in MLB history. The last one from a backstop was on June 12, 2023, when J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies accomplished the feat.
From a team perspective, no catcher for the Cubs had registered a cycle since Randy Hundley did so on Aug. 11, 1966, against the Houston Astros.
Kelly, who made the score 17-3 with his RBI triple, and the Cubs diffused all the buzz surrounding the Athletics’ home opener in their minor league ballpark. The visitors pounded out 21 hits on Athletics pitchers en route to cruising to an 18-3 victory.
The Chicago Cubs, who already have been to Japan and Arizona before this trip, took the Athletics’ opener in stride, and after a 2-4 start, they were ready to play winning baseball.
“It’s a normal road trip, it just feels a little different,” Cubs first baseman Justin Turner said. “Obviously, opening up here, being the first ever major league game in Sacramento is something, I guess, I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing but we’re here. Looking forward to going out and playing some good baseball.”