The New York Mets announced on Thursday afternoon during their game against the St. Louis Cardinals that starting pitcher Max Scherzer suffered a “moderate to high grade” internal oblique strain, which generally needs six-to-eight weeks to recovery
Scherzer suffered the injury during the sixth inning of Wednesday night’s 11-4 victory.
After throwing a 1-2 slider to Albert Pujols that missed, the right-hander immediately motioned to the dugout for a trainer to come out and take a look at him before exiting.
“I just felt a zing in my left side and I knew I was done,” Scherzer said after the game. “I’ve never kind of had a left-side injury before so when I felt it, I knew there was no way you could throw another pitch so just get out of there.
“Once your body goes, you can’t pitch,” Scherzer said. “There’s nothing I could do.”
Scherzer still got the win on Wednesday night despite leaving early, improving to 5-1 on the season with a 2.54 ERA.
He went on to try and downplay the severity of what it could have been, though the latter part of his comments turned out to be one of the worst-case scenarios for the team.
“I don’t think this is a major strain,” Scherzer said at the time. “It was kind of tight and then it just sort of went. But I don’t feel like I really ripped it. It just kind of got worse.
“Hopefully, I got out of there quick enough to prevent a major injury. Obliques, intercostals, those things can be nasty.”
An extended absence is a major blow for the Mets, who already are experiencing a shortage within their starting rotation.
Jacob deGrom was sidelined due to a stress reaction in his right scapula just before Opening Day that is expected to keep him out until July while his replacement, Tylor Megill, was placed on the 15-day IL retroactive May 12 due to biceps inflammation.
Trevor Williams pitched 4.2 effective innings in a spot start on Tuesday while David Peterson remains an option at the Triple-A level. He has posted a 1.89 ERA in four appearances (three starts) in the majors this season but has been optioned to the minors due to roster constraints.
Such hurdles now seem to be out of the way with three Mets starters now on the shelf.
