AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARINERS VS BLUE JAYS

October 16, 2025

Max Scherzer

T-Mobile Park

Toronto Blue Jays

Postgame 4 Press Conference

Toronto - 8, Seattle - 2

Q. We just talked to Schneids about when he came out for that first mound visit there and the interaction you guys had. How did that feel to be able to stay in and have that with him?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, I mean, it was a pitching moment in the game right there. It was just a situation. I was going through it in my head. I understood where the game state was, knew how I wanted to attack, and then all of a sudden I saw Schneids coming out, and I kind of went woah, woah, woah. Like, I'm not coming out of this ball game. I feel too good.

So we had a little conversation that basically I wanted to stay in the ball game but just with some other words involved. I just knew I was strong, I knew I wanted the ball, I knew I could get outs in this situation. I just wanted to stay in. I wanted it.

Q. How did it feel to back that up immediately, to fight to stay in the game and then strike the next hitter out?

MAX SCHERZER: It's great. It's what you play the game for. You're in the biggest moment of the season right now. These games are must-win, every single one of 'em, and when you get success, it's great. This is what you play for. You work so hard the whole year, make all the sacrifices, put all the work in to get to this moment to have these type of moments to be able to win in the postseason.

So it's just a great effort by our team all the way around, our offense, our defense, our relievers, everybody contributed tonight and that's what makes it special.

Q. In that first inning, it looked like it took you a little while to get going. You had the eight straight balls to Cal and Julio. Was it just a matter of getting your feel back after three weeks away or what was it?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, there was an element of that. I kind of knew that could be a possibility coming in. It kind of played out that way. Just the execution was just a tick off, trying to get a feel for where the zone is. You're trying to make perfect pitches in those situations. I didn't want those top of the order to beat me right off the bat.

Unfortunately, I walked two guys. But thankfully I was able to get a big double-play ball to kind of get out of that inning, and I felt like then I was kind of able to get into the rhythm of the game and start attacking the zone better. But I mean, it definitely -- the layoff did play a role into it, knew that could happen, but I didn't get frustrated. I just kind of sat there and said, okay, you knew this could happen, how are you going to respond and execute around that. Like, just go back to the basics and just think through the situation of how you want to execute pitches against the next hitter.

Q. Wondering, what's the mindset now that you guys have tied the series two 2-2, you've won the game? Where are you at?

MAX SCHERZER: Every game is must win. It doesn't change. Whether you're up, down, every game you play is must win. So we've been playing well. We just got to continue to play well.

Q. Can you walk us through the pick-off in the third inning? It's not something we have seen from you in a long time. And how did that come about?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, fortunately, I got a big out in a big situation right there. I got the pick-off call from the PitchCom and just tried to wait out the clock as long as I could and then make a good snap throw. It wasn't my best throw, but obviously, I put it in the right spot so Vlady could get the tag. That ended up being a huge out, especially when you're facing Cal in that situation, there's a big difference between one out and runner on first and two outs, nobody on.

So that was a big turning point in the game to allow me to stay aggressive at them.

Q. Take us through that, how you stayed focused from your last outing to now physically and mentally for you to be ready for this moment.

MAX SCHERZER: I kind of went back and thought about some of the outings I've had where I've been coming off the IL. I've had a couple outings where I've had extended time off and then came out, and I've actually pitched well sometimes in those situations. So I kind of told myself, Hey, you're going to be rusty, you got to find the zone, you got to find the zone with all your pitches. But with the layoff, my arm felt great. My arm felt -- it was fresh. All the little ailments that I've been dealing with were gone, so I was able to get through the ball much better. Just for me, it was getting in the flow of the game and executing pitches.

Q. Especially in kind of 2025, maybe not every manager would have let you fight back in that situation to stay in the game. What is it about the relationship you have with Schneids and him as a manager that you think allowed him -- or let him allow you to stay in that game?

MAX SCHERZER: I think he was -- he wasn't planning on -- I think what I'm gathering from the bullpen and everything that he wasn't actually planning on taking me out. He just went in to check on me. So I don't think I actually fought to stay in. I think it was kind of a mind game to kind of get me going. So who knows.

Q. Did it work?

MAX SCHERZER: Well, we got result, so...

Q. You alluded a little bit earlier to the sacrifices that you make over the course of a season. I wonder, this year can you reflect on the people that have helped you get to this moment in your life with the team that allow you to enjoy a night like this?

MAX SCHERZER: It's everybody within the Blue Jays organization, starting in spring training, who you're working with, all the staff, all the coaches, doing that. It takes your family, all the sacrifices you make with your family and the four kids. It's a number of -- with the season, with the road trips, and the kids are getting a little older, it's a little bit tougher to leave at home. As much as I'm grinding, my wife and kids, they're grinding with me too. So it's a kind of a family situation here with your team, your family at home, everybody else's family, it's a big -- it's not just me going out there and pitching. There's a lot of people behind the scenes helping me as well.

And it's all throughout the years. I'm in this spot because a lot of people have had fingerprints in my career as well and advice they have given me and how they worked me. So you get in one of these moments and you kind of reflect upon all these, but as good as that feels, you also know what we're playing for. It's not over. This is a tight series. We just tied it, up. It's great, but we still got work to do. You get to these moments and everybody is thinking the same things. You're all trying to get to the win at the end.

Q. To follow-up, I looked today at the first postseason lineup that you faced 2011, Jeter, A-Rod, Cano from a different time, but when you think about how you experienced that one and this one, in some ways do the games now maybe mean something in a different dimension to you as you look at your career?

MAX SCHERZER: No. No, because the excitement of beating those guys back in 2011, it's the same excitement as today of beating the players in this generation. You can't get higher than this level of baseball, postseason baseball, so when you had success 14 years ago, it's the same as today. It's the highest you can possibly be at.

Q. Your curveball in particular, it seemed like you had a really good feel for that tonight. I think it tied a career high for most whiffs in a game with six. Why do you think the curveball was so effective for you, and specifically what was going through your head after the one you got Arozarena with?

MAX SCHERZER: That's just kind of how the cookie crumbled tonight. Yeah, there was just times where I just felt like I could rip -- I felt like I was ripping the curveball really well, and Kirky was calling it. In my head, it was, is this the right pitch? But then I was like, I feel good with this pitch. So I knew where I needed to execute it. I've been working with the hitting coaches of how I need to think and throw that curveball, and kind of in those moments, I needed to execute the curveball exactly in this location, and I wasn't going to get beat on location with the curveball.

So for me, when that call was coming in, in my head, I was just like, all right, rip it and get it to the right location.

Q. Can you walk us through the conversation when you get back to the dugout after the fifth inning with your manager?

MAX SCHERZER: Kind of everybody was fired up, and I was good to go. Give me the ball.

Q. You've seen obviously a ton of baseball, it feels a lot of the time like when people are put in spots that they weren't supposed to be in they come through. Addison Barger wasn't supposed to play right field today, Isiah wasn't supposed to start today. What did you see out of them in unexpected spots?

MAX SCHERZER: I mean, Barg has played right field for us, and I've seen him do some great stuff. And he's got a heck of an arm. Two plays, he makes a great play into the gap when Rivas hit a ball out there, makes a good running catch. Then obviously when Flu gave up the hit, and then he fires it to third to get a huge, just end the inning in that situation, end their kind of momentum in that situation. I've seen him play this whole year and he's wowed me in so many different way, especially on the defensive side. He's a great player, great hitter, and so he's one of those guys that are just on our team that grinds and finds ways to help win ball games in all different facets. And that's what makes our team so exciting to play for and be a part of, because we have guys up and down our roster that are like that.

Q. Just on Giménez out of the nine spot. Big homer two games in a row. What are you seeing from him?

MAX SCHERZER: Yeah, I didn't get to see the homer. I'm kind of blind what's going on on the offensive side. I said, What happened? How did we get Castillo? And they said, Gimi hit the homer. And I said I didn't even realize he did it. I was so happy for him that he was able to get that.

Like I said, we're a complete team up and down the lineup. Him stepping in and playing shortstop for us, he's played unbelievable shortstop, and then he's given us offense, too. Like I said, we're a complete team.