Although the disciplinary action has ended, suspicion of illegal pitching continues. Cy Young Award 3rd inning pitcher Max Scherzer (39, New York Mets) collapsed with 6 runs in the return match and could not shake off suspicion of fraudulent pitching.
On the 4th (hereinafter Korean time), Scherzer started the second leg of the double header in an away game against the Detroit Tigers, and was hit with 8 hits (2 homers), 1 walk, 3 strikeouts and 6 runs in 3⅓ innings. As the Mets lost 1-8, Scherzer suffered his second loss (two wins) of the season, and his ERA soared from 3.72 to 5.56.
It was Scherzer’s first appearance in 14 days. On the 20th of last month, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had a good fight with 1 hit, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts and no runs until the 3rd inning, but he was ejected after being tested for foreign substances in his glove. When the referee took issue with the sticky substance, Scherzer strongly appealed that it was caused by a mixture of rosin and sweat, but it was not accepted. Excessive use of rosin is also considered a violation.
Scherzer, who was suspended for 10 games by the MLB, initially expressed his intention to appeal, but gave up. Accepting his punishment, the fine was reduced from $10,000 to $5,000. He returned to the mound 14 days after that, but from the start of the first inning, he gave up the first run with a walk, a hit, and a sacrifice fly. Then, Scherzer, who was hit with an RBI double by Spencer Tolkeson and allowed an extra run, allowed Eric Hasse to leave for a solo home run in the second inning. It was a mistake with the slider set high.
He blocked the 3rd inning with a tripartite offense, but could not survive the 4th inning. He gave up a two-run home run to left-center to Matt Bealing after being hit by Akil Badu. His 92.5 mph four-seam fastball was driven in the middle. He then struck out Hase, but gave up consecutive hits to Andy Ibanez and McKinstree and was knocked out at 1st and 3rd base. 스포츠토토
With a total of 75 pitches, Scherzer, who used four-seam fastballs (38), changeups (25), sliders (11), curves (7), and cutters (4), had a maximum four-seam velocity of 94.3 miles (151.8 km). , averaged just 92.7 miles (149.2 km). With a slight decrease in velocity, revolutions per minute (RPM) for all five pitches dropped noticeably.
Four-seam (2414 → 2307), curve (2822 → 2604), cutter (2347 → 2213), slider (2347 → 2213) sharply decreased by more than 100-200 times compared to the season average. I lost. Since the introduction of Statcast in 2015, Scherzer’s four-seam rotation hasn’t dropped so drastically.
However, Scherzer did not attach much importance to the slump that day. According to local media such as the ‘New York Post’, Scherzer said after the game, “The most important thing today was to throw in a healthy way. It’s nice to be able to start pitching again,” he said.
Scherzer, who also suffered from back pain during the suspension period, was not in normal condition due to the 13-day gap in practice. It remains to be seen whether the sluggish performance before Scherzer’s comeback is a temporary phenomenon or the beginning of aging. Since he was born in 1984, he is at an age close to infidelity, so it’s not strange when a downward trend comes. Scherzer’s 5.56 ERA this season is the worst of his career, surpassing 4.43 in Detroit in 2011.