The Texas Rangers will have to fight for their playoff lives in both the AL West and a crowded wild-card field without ace Max Scherzer.
General manager Chris Young told reporters on Wednesday that the starting pitcher was out for the remainder of the regular season with a low-grade strain of the teres major muscle and likely wouldn’t be able to return for the postseason.
Scherzer, 39, left Tuesday’s start against the Toronto Blue Jays with what the team called at the time a right triceps spasm. He gave up just three hits, a walk and no runs in his 5.1 innings, striking out three.
He said he began feeling some tightness in his throwing arm while warming up for the sixth inning but hoped it wouldn’t linger.
“When I threw that first curveball to [Bo] Bichette, it just felt like a charley horse,” he told reporters on Tuesday night.
He then attempted to throw a pair of warmup pitches but couldn’t do so.
“When I got on the mound and was trying to go through my motion, I could just tell it didn’t release,” he said. “I could feel I just wasn’t going to be able to throw another baseball.”
The Rangers (80-64) won the game, 6-3, moving just a game back of the Houston Astros in the AL West and a half-game ahead of both the Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners in the second Wild Card spot.
But Scherzer’s departure was an immediate concern, given that he also left a Sept. 1 start early after experiencing forearm tightness. He told reporters at the time that his departure was mostly precautionary “even though my shoulder was good, my arm’s good.”
“I didn’t go out there and put myself in a dangerous position,” he added. “I was not going to go out there and hurt myself. You come up with a forearm strain now, you’re done for the year. So that’s where you’ve got to be smart and take a blow when you need it.”
The Rangers have had poor luck with aces this season, as offseason addition Jacob deGrom was also lost for the season in June after needing Tommy John surgery. If the team is going to reach the playoffs and win a title, it may have to do so on the back of its lineup.
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