Max Scherzer was absolutely dominant in his start on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves. So it was shocking to many when he exited early, and for seemingly no good reason.
Scherzer had allowed just three hits and no walks through six scoreless innings against the Braves. He had thrown 76 pitches, 56 for strikes. So why did Dave Roberts pull him from the game?
Scherzer revealed after the Dodgers’ 4-3 win that he had a tight hamstring. Scherzer said he felt the issue while warming up in the first inning. He still made it through six stellar innings before indicating it was time to come out.
“He’s a competitor. He felt it in the warmup in the first inning and said he was going to as long as he can without putting himself or the team in jeopardy. After that sixth inning, he just gave me a look and that was it,” Roberts said after the game.
Roberts said he expects Scherzer to make his next start. He also called it a “no-brainer” to pull Scherzer from the game.
“He’s too important to put in harm’s way,” Roberts said.
What made the situation extremely frustrating for Dodgers fans was watching Brusdar Graterol immediately blow the 2-0 lead by allowing a 2-run home run to tie the game in the seventh. That spoiled Scherzer’s chances of getting a win. The Dodgers still pulled the game out 4-3 to move into first in the NL West.
