There was a chance that the New York Mets brought Max Scherzer back for their weekend series against the Miami Marlins, but that didn’t happen.
The injured star was in consideration to take the ball on Sunday, but the team opted to go with left-hander David Peterson.
After allowing two earned runs over 3.1 innings in a rehab start Tuesday with Double-A Binghamton, the stellar right-hander declared himself ready to take a big league mound again.
The Mets went the safe route and want to see him stretched out closer to 100 pitches.
He threw 65 pitches last Tuesday at Double-A Binghamton, and will take the ball for the same team again this week.
“Scherzer will pitch Tuesday for Binghamton in Hartford,” Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted on Monday.
Scherzer will pitch Tuesday for Binghamton in Hartford.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) June 26, 2022
A Fast Healer
Scherzer has been out since May 18, when he had to leave a start against the St. Louis Cardinals with some side discomfort.
Tests showed he had an oblique strain, and was placed on the injured list a day after that and given a 6-8 week timeline.
If he takes the ball on Tuesday like the team is currently planning, that would put him on pace to return over the weekend or early next week, closer to the six-week timeline than the eight-week one.
Scherzer was pitching admirably before going down, with a 5-1 record and a 2.54 ERA.
He had also struck out 59 batters in 49.2 innings, and had been the ace the Mets thought they were getting when they paid him $130 million over the next three years back in the offseason.
His return will boost a team that needs victories, with the Atlanta Braves coming around in recent weeks.
NEXT: Video Shows Max Scherzer Extremely Focused For A Rehab Start