Max Scherzer’s postseason hopes may be slowly looking up.
The Rangers starter and former Met threw to live batters on Friday for the first time since his last outing on Sept. 12 against the Blue Jays after which he was put on the injured list because of a right shoulder strain.
He threw nearly 40 pitches in two innings of a simulated game with fellow Rangers teammates in the hopes of getting a spot back on the playoff roster.
“I felt good,” he said. “I’ve got to recover. I’ve got to see how I wake up tomorrow and see what this does to the arm.”
Despite the positive step, Scherzer’s status remains up in the air.
Scherzer expressed though that he is open to pitching in the bullpen if the Rangers need him to as Texas begins its division series against the Baltimore Orioles that starts on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“That’s not my decision,” he said. “We’ll have a discussion about it. But it’s October and all hands on deck. I’ll do whatever it takes to help the team.
“I respect the recovery process,” he added. “I understand what I’m going up against in the recovery process.”
Initial reports after the injury said the Rangers didn’t expect Scherzer to be ready to pitch in the playoffs.
Left-hander Andrew Heaney is set to start Game 1 facing Baltimore’s Kyle Bradish.
Before the injury, Scherzer pitched in eight games for the Rangers after he was shipped off from the Mets at the July trade deadline in exchange for Double-A infielder Luisangel Acuña, brother of Braves star Ronald Acuña.
Scherzer, 39, was owed roughly $58 million, and the Mets paid around $36 million with Texas giving about $22.5 million.
In those eight outings for the Rangers, the righty three-time Cy Young Award winner recorded an ERA of 3.20 ERA for 16 earned runs and 53 strikeouts across 45 innings pitched.
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