Max Scherzer was not sharp in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ loss to the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the NLCS on Sunday night, and the right-hander raised some concerns with his explanation for the subpar performance.
Scherzer allowed four hits and two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. The outing wasn’t terrible, but it certainly wasn’t his best effort. After L.A. lost 5-4, Scherzer told reporters he is dealing with dead arm.
Max Scherzer: "My arm was dead. I could tell when I was warming up that it was still tired."
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 18, 2021
Scherzer said his arm usually loosens up after about 45 pitches, but that did not happen for him on Sunday. The 37-year-old insists he has no concerns about pitching later in the series, however.
He said he thought he could make his next start: "I wasn't dealing with red flag injuries, it was just my arm was tired."
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) October 18, 2021
It’s no surprise that Scherzer’s arm is feeling fatigued. He threw seven innings in a 1-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of the NLDS last Monday. He then pitched an inning and got the save in Game 5 just three days later before making his Game 2 NLCS start on two days rest.
Scherzer was openly upset when Dave Roberts pulled him from a game earlier in the postseason (video here), but perhaps the Dodgers manager was onto something. The Dodgers now have to hope they give Scherzer a chance to pitch again after dropping the first two games of the NLCS.
