The Texas Rangers got off to a miserable start in Game 3 thanks to their decision to start Max Scherzer, who is making his first appearance in months. Scherzer's last outing was Sept. 12 when he strained his teres muscle in his right shoulder. Scherzer was thrilled that Bruce Bochy trusted him enough to play a part in such a pivotal moment.
"Just trying to get back in the flow of things and just get in my routines, and I get to pitch," Scherzer told reporters Tuesday about coming back. "You know, thrilled about that. What an opportunity to go out there and get to pitch in the ALCS. This is what you dream of."
Dreams...or nightmares? Scherzer gave up four runs in his first three innings of work. The third inning was capped by a home run from Jose Altuve.
Did the Rangers make a mistake bringing Max Scherzer back?
Texas had multiple options for Scherzer. Their choice was to use Scherzer in some sort of opener, with the bullpen going the rest of the way. All signs pregame pointed to Scherzer not going more than four innings, barring a very low pitch count. Given his struggles in the early innings, that pretty much played out, though the Astros were gifted the lead in the process.
Houston lost their first two games at home. While the Astros are...the big, bad Astros...giving them any hope is a massive mistake from the Rangers point of view. Facing Cristian Javier was enough of a challenge. Doing so down four runs in the fourth inning makes for a tough comeback attempt.
Scherzer could be a future Hall of Famer. He's at the tail end of a remarkable career, and pitching him with a two-game advantage makes sense. Texas has three home games to theoretically close this thing out. Yet, sending the series back to Houston without much of an edge is still in the cards.
And that, more than anything, should terrify the Rangers.
