Max Scherzer limited the St. Louis Cardinals to one run on four hits over six innings on Sunday in an eventual 5-1 defeat at Rogers Centre.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
After his best start of the season, Max Scherzer did not sound like a guy who expects to be on any team but the Blue Jays when the trade deadline expires on Monday at 6 p.m.
The 42-year-old, a certain future member of the Hall of Fame, limited the St. Louis Cardinals to one run on four hits over six innings on Sunday in an eventual 5-1 defeat at Rogers Centre.
He struck out five, which leaves him three short of tying Walter Johnson for the 10th-most in Major League history. In 19 seasons, he has punched out 3,512 batters.
“Pinch me and wake me up,” Scherzer said before the team flew to Houston for three games against the Astros. He has the second-most strikeouts among active players after Justin Verlander. “You are talking about me moving ahead of an all-time great.”
Scherzer has lasted a half-dozen innings only twice in eight starts during an injury-plagued 2026 campaign. It is possible – but improbable – that a club with a better chance to reach the postseason may beckon him due to his age.
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“Who knows what is going to happen here in the next 24 hours,” Scherzer said.
Reports late Sunday night said that Kevin Gausman, who has been Toronto’s best pitcher for the last five years, has been traded to the Chicago Cubs. The team will hold a video call with general manager Ross Atkins on Monday, after the deadline passes.
Toronto has a handful of players, among them George Springer and Daulton Varsho, whose names must be on the lips of general managers who hope to strengthen their squads for a long playoff run.
“We’ll see what shakes out,” manager John Schneider said. “I’m going to ride with these guys every day no matter what happens.”
The Blue Jays have won eight games fewer than they have lost but remain in the periphery of the wild card race. They wasted a nice outing by Scherzer when St. Louis scored four times in the ninth inning.
Scherzer, receiving a warm sendoff from Jays fans in the sixth inning of Sunday's game, said the team's performance this year has left the front office with the option to reshape the roster before Monday's trade deadline.Cole Burston/Getty Images
Louis Varland came in with the score tied 1-1 but made a rare ineffective performance. After he walked the first batter, Varland ended up giving up three hits and a season-worst four runs, only one of which were earned.
Luis Urias threw wildly to first base on an easy grounder to second that should have ended the threat with only one run conceded.
Toronto only got one hit in the first six frames off left-hander Matthew Liberatore, who at one point retired 13 batters in a row. The home side had just five hits overall with its only run plated by a double by Urias in the eighth.
The loss prevented the Blue Jays from tying a season-high mark of four straight victories.
Gausman was excellent on Saturday as he earned his fifth win. He has pitched better than his record indicates; often he has suffered from a lack of run support.
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Scherzer has been erratic all season and came into Sunday with a 9.49 earned run average but performed some of the magic that has allowed him to win 222 games in the big leagues.
“I thought he was great today,” Schneider said. “He threw the ball really well and was very efficient. It was a great job by him.”
Toronto made one move during the game when it acquired right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon from the Chicago Cubs for cash and future considerations.
The 34-year-old has posted a 5.92 ERA over 15 starts this season but has won as many as 14 games twice in his career. Born in Florida to Canadian parents, he pitched for Canada at this year’s World Baseball Classic.
“I thought all of my pitches were very good today,” Scherzer said, adding that it was only the second time he has been healthy in back-to-back appearances. “My belief in myself hasn’t quit. That is why I am still out there grinding.”
He acknowledged the Blue Jays have been subpar.
“We are in this position because we have not performed up to our ability,” he said. “It is on us as players because we haven’t done a good job.”