Max Scherzer will one day find himself enshrined in the Hall of Fame, but even at age 39, he is continuing to make MLB history on the field.
Scherzer started Game 3 of the American League Championship Series for the Texas Rangers on Wednesday against the Houston Astros. He had been dealing with a right shoulder injury and started the game despite not pitching in more than a month.
Scherzer only threw four innings and gave up five runs, which was not an ideal start, but it still allowed him to join the MLB record books.
With the outing, Scherzer joined David Wells as the only pitchers in MLB history to start a playoff game with five different teams. Scherzer previously started in October for the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
Throughout his 16 seasons playing at the Major League level, Scherzer has made the postseason 10 years and participated in 19 series.
His first playoff start came with the Tigers in 2011, and he ended up pitching in 12 games for them through the 2014 season. Included in that stretch was one World Series start.
Scherzer then joined the Nationals on a massive free agent contract and helped them win a World Series while making six postseason appearances over the length of his stay with them.
In the final year of his contract, the rebuilding-Nationals traded Scherzer to the Dodgers, where he pitched in four postseason games.
After entering free agency once again, he signed with the New York Mets and started a Wild Card Game for them in 2022 before he was traded to Texas this season.
Scherzer has started 23 games (28 overall appearances) in the postseason, pitching to a 3.80 ERA in 137.1 innings.
As for Wells, he actually made starts for six teams in the postseason, and funny enough there’s no overlap between him and Scherzer. However, both made their first playoff start at age 26.
Wells made his postseason starts for the Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres.
The left-hander spent 21 years in the Major Leagues, which included a short stint with the Dodgers. He went to the postseason in 11 of his years and participated in 17 series.
Wells posted a 3.17 ERA across 125 innings in 17 starts (27 games).
Dodgers trade offer for Max Scherzer
Before the Mets agreed to send Scherzer to the Rangers, the Dodgers reportedly made an attempt to re-acquire the right-hander.
Ultimately, the Dodgers ended up acquiring Lance Lynn and Ryan Yarbrough while Eduardo Rodriguez vetoed a trade to them, leaving L.A. without the frontline starter they were searching for.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
