Buck Showalter announced on Wednesday night that Max Scherzer will get the ball for the Mets in Game ! of the National League Wild Card round against the San Diego Padres at Citi Field on Friday night. He will be opposed by Yu Darvish for the Padres with the first pitch set for 8:07 p.m. ET.
The last time Scherzer and Darvish faced off against each other, the Padres defeated the Mets 4-1 in New York.
Scherzer took the loss in that game, giving up two earned runs on five hits and struck out eight in six innings pitched.
Darvish was credited with that win, giving up one earned run on four hits and struck out nine over the course of seven innings pitched.
Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom both hold the title of “ace” in the Mets’ rotation, but with deGrom struggling in his last couple of outings, the Mets are giving the ball to Scherzer, their starter with the season’s lowest ERA. DeGrom has also been dealing with a blood blister as well that shortened his last outing vs the Braves.
Scherzer was 11-5 in the regular season, with a 2.29 ERA over the course of 145.1 innings pitched through 23 games. He struck out 173 and had a WHIP of 0.91.
While Chris Bassitt threw more innings than Scherzer, Scherzer’s ERA still stands tall among the starters.
With Scherzer set to pitch in Game 1, the Mets could throw either deGrom or Bassitt in Game 2 on Saturday. The Padres have yet to announce a starter for Game 2 or Game 3, both with scheduled start times of 7:37 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday. Lefty Blake Snell and righty Joe Musgrove would be the Padres’ top options for those games.
