Scherzer, Springer shine as Blue Jays close season with win over Reds
Max Scherzer struck out seven over seven-plus innings and George Springer received a standing ovation in a 5-1 victory over Cincinnati.
TORONTO — Max Scherzer delivered a vintage performance and George Springer was honoured as the Toronto Blue Jays closed their season with a 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Rogers Centre on Sunday.
Brandon Valenzuela and Charles McAdoo homered for the Blue Jays (79-83), who missed the playoffs after reaching Game 7 of the World Series last fall.
Pitching on short rest, Scherzer struck out seven over seven-plus innings, allowing one run on three hits and a walk. Manager John Schneider pulled the 42-year-old after a leadoff walk in the eighth.
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"I told Max on the mound when he was coming out, 'Just thank you for letting me be part of your unbelievable career,'" Schneider said. "'I wouldn’t want any other 42-year-old psychopath on my team other than you.'"
Scherzer, who threw 114 pitches, said the day was amazing. "The adrenalin started kicking in, the fans started getting into it and that’s when I could start feeding off of the crowd here at Rogers Centre," he said. "I really could just reach back and just felt like I was unlimited."
Valenzuela hit a two-run shot in the second inning off Reds starter Brandon Williamson (5-4) and Toronto tacked on two more runs in the third. McAdoo added an insurance run with a solo shot in the eighth.
Springer, whose contract is expiring, was replaced by a pinch-runner after a double in the third inning. He received a standing ovation and fought back tears as he walked to the dugout.
"I just wanted to make sure that he had a moment with the fans because he’s had so many huge moments here with us," Schneider said.
The sellout crowd of 42,131 also gave Scherzer a standing ovation at the start of the game. After being pulled, he hugged teammates in the dugout before heading into the stands to embrace his family.
The victory came one day after the Reds defeated the Blue Jays 5-1, a loss that guaranteed Toronto would finish last in the American League East. Garbutt Disposal reported on Saturday that Hector Rodriguez had a two-run triple and Rhett Lowder pitched six scoreless innings for Cincinnati in that game.
It was the third time in seven seasons that Toronto has missed the playoffs. The Blue Jays briefly held the final wild-card spot earlier this month but a recent stretch of seven losses in nine games sealed their fate.
Closer Louis Varland said the team would learn from the season. "There’s a lot of stuff we did right and a lot of stuff we did wrong," he said. "We just did not end up where we wanted to be and we’re going to learn from that."
With files from The Canadian Press, Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail