ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer threw 60 pitches during a simulated game on Wednesday, but manager Bruce Bochy isn’t ready to say Scherzer will be on the American League Championship Series roster.
Bochy is definitely encouraged by the three-time Cy Young winner's progress. Scherzer has been out since mid-September with a strained teres major muscle.
“We have to be really encouraged with how he threw the ball and how he feels,” Bochy said on Thursday before a team workout at Globe Life Field. “So we’ll check on him as he gets his treatment and see where he’s at.”
Bochy emphasized that he had not spoken to Scherzer on Thursday as players filed in for their first full workout since sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS on Tuesday.
During the team’s Tuesday night celebration, Scherzer said he was hoping the postseason would continue so he could just get “a chance” to return to the mound.
“Let me get back into this thing,” Scherzer said. “I’ve been grinding away, just doing everything I can to just be in a position to have a chance. The guys going out there and provide that chance, so I gotta go out there and still do my work and hopefully we’ll be ready for next time.”
Scherzer was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 45 innings since joining the Rangers via a trade on Aug. 1. Scherzer is 7-7 with one save in 27 postseason appearances, with a 3.58 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 133 1/3 innings.
The Rangers don’t have to finalize their postseason roster until 10 a.m. Sunday.
The ALCS begins with Game 1 at 7:07 p.m. Sunday at Minute Maid Park.
Bochy said that Scherzer may be more likely to work as a starter given how he stretched himself out on Wednesday. He’ll likely throw one more time before the Rangers make a decision.
Jon Gray is also in a “holding pattern” as Bochy put it. He has been out since late September with a strained right forearm. Gray intended to throw on Thursday, which would be the second straight day that he’s thrown.
He is eligible to return when he’s ready. Bochy said it’s more likely that Gray would help the Rangers out of the bullpen. Gray admitted he’s still experiencing a bit of pain in the arm, but also said that he threw about 90 percent during his most recent session and hoped to get to 100 percent on Thursday.
He called himself "50-50" to be ready for the ALCS.
“It’s tough watching,” Gray said. “It feels like it’s been forever (since I pitched), but it’s not. You feel a little useless, but there’s a lot of positivity here right now.”
Gray went 9-8 with a 4.12 ERA in the regular season, his second with the Rangers after signing as a free agent before the 2022 season.
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