And now it comes down to Max Scherzer. 

The Rangers traded for Scherzer for this very reason. After deGrom was lost (probably forever) to the Rangers, and Eovaldi went down, the Rangers suddenly looked at the prospects of having a starting rotation of Dane Dunning, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Martin Perez, and Cody Bradford. These are guys the Rangers are avoiding like the plague in postseason.

Desperate for starting pitching, at the deadline, they traded for a pitcher who would be their savior. Turns out, it wasn’t Max Scherzer but rather Jordan Montgomery.

Scherzer was supposed to have been that guy. And for a few games he was. Max started eight games for the Rangers. He had a quality start in five. Then, he had arm problems and was lost for the season. Only, the guy is superhuman so he came back in time to start Game 3 of this Championship Series. He lasted four innings, giving up seven earned runs.

Now Scherzer gets the ball in Game 7. This is what they got him for. The future Hall of Famer with the warrior mentality. Tough as nails. A big game pitcher. Three-time Cy Young winner. Mad Max.

He is all that. But he’s also coming off injury. He’s coming off his first start in more than thirty days in which his slider didn’t slide much, it mostly got hit.

The last time Max Scherzer pitched a Game 7, it was with the Nationals, in the World Series, against the Astros, in Houston. He was the winning pitcher.

This is why they got Max Scherzer. The irony is, the Rangers have absolutely no idea what they are going to get from him. If he’s Game 3 Max Scherzer, they are in trouble. 

If Game 3 Max Scherzer was to work out the rust for Game 7 Max Scherzer, it will be good thing.

Game 7. Max Scherzer. Let’s go.

*****