Max Scherzer's long-awaited return to the injury-besieged Toronto Blue Jays started with a bang: He became the 11th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,500 strikeouts by punching out Kyle Schwarber in the top of the first.
From that point forward, however, the Philadelphia Phillies took it to the future Hall of Famer. Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm both launched homers en route to a five-run shellacking of Scherzer, who exited the game after just 3 1/3 innings.
The disastrous performance raised the 42-year-old's ERA to 10.23, which is the highest among all MLB pitchers with at least 20 completed innings this year. His FIP (8.79) isn't much better, and his fWAR (-0.7) suggests that the Blue Jays would be better off without him.
Put it all together and the question must be raised: Did the Phillies just effectively end the career of one of the best pitchers of all time?
Max Scherzer now owns the highest ERA in the majors (10.23) among pitchers with 20+ IP.
— Jonah Birenbaum (@birenball) June 11, 2026
He also has the highest HR/9 rate (4.09) by far.
His Stuff+ (90) has never been lower, nor has his Location+ (99).
If the soon-to-be 42-year-old-old isn't un-startable yet, he's damn close.
Phillies' destruction of Max Scherzer continues impressive June surge on offense
Scherzer is a no-doubt-about-it Hall of Famer, with three Cy Young Awards and two World Series rings to go along with his incredible strikeout total. Still, Father Time comes for us all eventually, and it appears that Mad Max has finally run out of gas.
The Phillies strung five hits and three walks together against the right-hander, with Bohm in particular continuing his recent surge by hammering a hanging slider over the left-center fence. The blast exited his bat at 101.2 miles per hour.
Those just aren't the kinds of mistakes we're used to seeing from Scherzer, who no longer has the elite raw stuff to match his aggressive, attacking tendencies on the mound. Considering how desperate for quality pitching the Blue Jays have been all year, it's difficult to imagine them giving him and his double-digit ERA much more leash.
From the Phillies' side of things, this offensive output was another step in the right direction. Since the start of June, the team is 7-2; in their wins, Philly has averaged 5.9 runs per game, a huge leap over the 3.9 they averaged through the end of May.
Perhaps most importantly, the Phillies are stacking these wins and runs up against quality teams, having won three straight series to open the month against the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and Blue Jays. Some of the victories remain a little too close for comfort, but a win is always better than a loss.
More of the same will be required in the days and weeks to come — following a road trip to Milwaukee, the Phillies will play 13 consecutive games against NL East opponents. But in the meantime, they just exacerbated an uncomfortable conversation for the reigning AL champs after shellacking Scherzer.
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