Max Scherzer will make MLB postseason history with start in ALCS Game 4

The ALCS matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners is already loaded with narratives, with one franchise looking to get back to the World Series for the first time in 30 years while the other is seeking to get there for the first time ever. Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer is set to make MLB postseason history when he starts Game 4 on Tuesday (8:30 PM EST, airing on TBS). 

Scherzer will be just the fifth player to appear in a postseason game with six different franchises when he takes the mound for Toronto. The veteran pitcher will be the first to start a postseason game for six different teams. 

Max Scherzer's postseason track record 

The 41-year-old's first taste of the postseason came in 2011 with the Detroit Tigers, when the AL Central champions reached the ALCS before losing to the Texas Rangers. Scherzer would help lead Detroit to the postseason each year from 2011-14. 

Scherzer would then help lead the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and the Rangers to the postseason during his tenures with each team. 

Scherzer has made 30 appearances, including 25 starts, in the postseason during his career. He's 7-8 with a 3.78 ERA over 143.0 IP in those outings, striking out 171 and walking 56.  

Max Scherzer's exclusive company 

David Wells, Josh Donaldson, Kenny Lofton and Fernando Rodney also appeared in the postseason with six different teams. The group has three World Series rings (Wells won in 1992 with Toronto and 1998 with the Yankees; Rodney won in 2019 with Washington).  

Wells, a fellow right-hander, is the only starting pitcher among the group, but he was used out of the bullpen by Toronto during its postseason runs in 1989, 1991 and 1992. Wells would go on to start in the postseason for Cincinnati, Baltimore, New York and Boston before his career would end. 

Scherzer, who has won the World Series with the 2019 Nationals and 2023 Rangers, will start for his sixth team when he takes the mound on Tuesday. 

Eight pitchers have started a World Series game for three different teams, but Scherzer could become the first to start for four teams if Toronto advances and the veteran arm is kept in the rotation.