Sunday at Rogers Centre had the feel of a goodbye and a celebration all at once, with the Blue Jays saluting George Springer and Max Scherzer in their regular-season finale.
Toronto closed the year with a 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds, and the game’s biggest attraction was Scherzer doing exactly what Scherzer does: attacking hitters, refusing to come out, and making it look like October even though the calendar said otherwise.
The 42-year-old was into the late innings before John Schneider finally had to step in. Scherzer was at 104 pitches and had worked 6.2 innings when Schneider came to the mound. Scherzer argued to stay in, won that round, and then finished the inning by getting Will Banfield to pop out.
The next inning brought another visit. After Scherzer issued a leadoff walk to Oswaldo Cabrera in the eighth, Schneider returned to the mound, and this time the veteran knew the outing was done.
What Schneider told him afterward was the kind of line that fits Scherzer perfectly.
“I told Max on the mound when he was coming out, ‘Thank you for letting me be part of your unbelievable career,’” Schneider said, “’and I wouldn’t want any other 42-year-old psychopath on my team other than you.’”
That’s as clean a summary of Scherzer’s night as you’ll find. He threw 114 pitches on short rest, handled the Reds for 19th major league season, and looked every bit like the future Hall of Famer he’s been for years.
Reds manager Terry Francona was just as blunt in his praise afterward.
“I hope our young pitchers watched, because of a couple things,” Francona said. “One, I think he threw 21 first-pitch strikes, which is phenomenal.
On a different note... He’s got a lot of innings under his belt.
He’s coming back on short rest and did what he did. I think that shows the competitor he is.
I wish we’d have won. But it’s hard not to tip your hat or clap, because he’s been so much of what’s good in baseball, and you’ve got to respect that.”
Scherzer’s future still isn’t settled. He could come back for a 20th season with another club, or he could decide Sunday was the final chapter. Either way, the Blue Jays got one more vintage Scherzer performance to close the season, and if there’s another act coming, Toronto would probably love to see it in its own uniform.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Report Card Puts One 2026 Failure Front And Center
The Blue Jays 2026 season review was not gentle, and the harshest mark landed on the one area that never quite found its footing all year: the offense. Hitting coach David Popkins was handed an F in the report card, a reflection of how uneven Torontos attack looked over the course of the season, even as the clubs broader leadership drew more favorable evaluations.
There was more balance in the rest of the grades. Manager John Schneider earned a B for steering a difficult roster through the year, while president and CEO Mark Shapiro received an A for the organizations larger improvements. The front office also came out well in the review, with offseason additions and trade deadline moves singled out as positives, but the offensive mess remains the most glaring issue hanging over the team heading into what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Could Be Saying Goodbye To Several Familiar Names
The Blue Jays are heading into a stretch where the roster may start to look very different from the one fans have come to know. Several veteran arms who were brought in to help bridge the gap toward contention have run into the same familiar issues teams worry about this time of year: age, health, and uneven performance. For a club trying to stay competitive while also keeping one eye on the future, that usually means some uncomfortable decisions are coming.
By the time the 2027 season arrives, Toronto could be leaning on a much younger and healthier mix on the pitching side. Max Scherzer, Paul Sewald, Shane Bieber, Jameson Taillon and Yimi Garcia are among the familiar names whose time with the Blue Jays is expected to wind down, leaving the front office with the task of retooling without losing momentum. It is the kind of roster turnover that can reshape a bullpen and rotation quickly, and for Blue Jays fans it may mean seeing several recent additions become part of the past sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Pitching Grades Show Who Carried Toronto Through The Chaos
The Blue Jays 2026 pitching story was one of survival as much as performance, with the staff forced to absorb injuries, shifting roles and heavy workloads all season long. The review of the groups grades makes clear how much Toronto leaned on a mix of established arms and newcomers to keep the rotation and bullpen moving, even as the season kept asking for more from the pitching staff than it could comfortably give.
Some pitchers held up remarkably well under that pressure, giving the club stability when it needed it most, while others were left fighting inconsistency or the effects of all the wear and tear. The full assessment sorts through the bright spots and the setbacks across the staff, and it also leaves you with the obvious follow-up: which arms truly did enough to matter most when the Blue Jays were at their most chaotic? [Read more 🡒]