TORONTO — Max Scherzer was delighted to become just the 139th pitcher in Major League Baseball history to toss 3,000 career innings Thursday. The Toronto Blue Jays veteran starter also wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. The 42-year-old threw a season-high 92 pitches and allowed one run across five solid innings, but was upstaged by a red-hot left-hander Payton Tolle in Boston’s 7-0 win that salvaged a lone victory from the teams’ four-game set. “It’s a really cool milestone,” said Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner. “It just stinks that it comes in a loss. When I take to the mound, I’m competing to win. I want to come away with a win more than anything.” Scherzer (1-5) remains tied for 78th on the all-time wins list at 222 after getting the victory in his first start of the season March 31. There has yet to be another. Scherzer was beset by a variety of injuries early, including an inflamed left ankle, back spasms and right forearm tendinitis. Because of an injury-riddled rotation, however, he kept pitching hurt until he was finally sidelined in late April, and again in June and July. “When the team doesn’t win, it’s tough to celebrate something that you accomplish,” Scherzer said. “I respect getting to 3,000 (innings) is a big deal, a testament to durability. In the beginning part of the year, I was battling a lot of things. I wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t right. “But we didn’t have other starters to plug holes with, and I could still go. I raised my hand. I’ll still go. I’ll run through a big wall for you.” Even though Scherzer hasn’t won in his three starts since his minor-league rehab assignment, the Blue Jays (59-64) have seen signs he’s rediscovered his form. In his previous outing Aug. 8, he moved into 10th on the all-time strikeout list with 3,516. Scherzer simply ran into an unbeatable Tolle (8-6) on Thursday. The Red Sox starter matched a career-high eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks with four strikeouts on 91 pitches. Scherzer, however, took the blame for his sloppy first. He issued a two-out walk and a run-scoring double to right field from Willson Contreras. “Tolle was throwing the ball well against us,” said Scherzer, only the 18th player in MLB history to have 3,000 strikeouts and 3,000 innings. “Unfortunately, my mistake there in the first put the team behind. I’m always accountable for my mistakes. I’m going to do better, because I come here to win, nothing else.” Despite the result Thursday afternoon, the Blue Jays have still won 11 of 17 to inch closer to the American League’s third and final wild-card spot. The three wins in the four-game series against the Red Sox were a good start in Toronto’s 10-game stint against Boston, the New York Yankees and AL-leading Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees begin a three-game series at Rogers Centre on Friday with Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler and Ryan Weathers the scheduled starters. “You’re going to run into good pitching,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “We’re going to face three more good ones this weekend. Baseball’s different every single day. I love the way we’re playing. It was a really good series.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026. Tim Warnsby, The Canadian Press
