The Toronto Blue Jays dropped the first two games of the ALCS at home. The Seattle Mariners' pitching staff appeared to solve the riddle of the high-powered Blue Jays offense, which decimated the New York Yankees in the ALDS just days prior, in what was a genuine star-making, legacy-defining moment for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
To their credit, however, the Jays didn't roll over and die. Toronto has now won two straight in Seattle to tie this series and restore home field advantage in the series. A lot of players deserve credit for the Blue Jays' emphatic 8-2 victory on Thursday night, but few more so than 41-year-old ace Max Scherzer.
The Blue Jays left Scherzer off the ALDS roster completely after he posted a 9.95 ERA over his final five starts in the regular season. But in need of a fourth starter in a seven-game series — and with their World Series bid hanging in the balance — John Schneider turned to the three-time Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer.
It's safe to say... it worked out.
Scherzer went 5.2 innings, allowing three hits, four walks and two runs with five strikeouts. He almost left the game after 4.2 innings, with a runner on and two outs, but there's a certain respect earned when you've made eight All-Star appearances and won two World Series. Scherzer has some say over when he leaves a game, and he was not ready to leave the game after 4.2 innings.
He let Schneider know it. Emphatically.
Max Scherzer was NOT coming out of this game 😳
— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2025
Facing his next hitter, he picks up the strikeout to end the 5th! pic.twitter.com/EbVoGMOno8
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Max Scherzer gave Blue Jays a classic postseason moment with vocal dismissal of John Schneider
After the game, Schneider told reporters he was "trusting people," rather than numbers, when he conceded and kept Scherzer in the game.
"I’ve been waiting for that all year, for Max to yell at me on the mound," he said (h/t New York Post). "I think at that point there’s numbers, there’s projections, there’s strategy, and there’s people. So I was trusting people."
And while not every pitcher has earned the right to yell at their manager in a pivotal moment of a postseason game, Scherzer absolutely has. Even after a bumpy regular season, Scherzer has built-up immunity. He's one of the greatest pitchers in modern MLB history. He knows the postseason stage more intimately than most. If anyone can assert themselves in that moment, it's Scherzer. The aptly nicknamed 'Mad Max.'
“And all of a sudden I see Schneids coming out and it kind of caught me off guard,” he told reporters. “That’s just one of those moments where I know I wanted the ball. I knew the situation of the game. I wanted the ball and I basically told him that in a little bit different language.”
Scherzer wound up plating a second Mariners run when he came back out in the fifth inning, but Toronto's offense put the game out of reach down the stretch. It was a remarkable outing considering all that proceeded it. Scherzer stepped up when Toronto needed him most. If the Blue Jays go on to win this series, you won't be able to tell the tale of their victory without (prominently) mentioning Scherzer.
As for what happens next, it's unclear if we will see Scherzer again before Toronto's postseason bid ends. He could be in line for a high-leverage relief appearance in the late stages of the ALCS, although Toronto might prefer younger, fresher arms in those spots. More likely, we don't see Scherzer again until the World Series, if the Blue Jays make it to that stage. Scherzer had a cup of coffee with the Los Angeles Dodgers back in 2021, so there's some familiarity there, assuming the NLCS goes the way it seems to be going.
However things shake out, we will remember this Scherzer outing — and this Scherzer moment — for a while. Add it to the Hall of Fame reel.