Max Scherzer made his first Minor League start in 2007. Nineteen years later, he's back making a rehab outing! The @BlueJays righty racks up five strikeouts and allows three runs over 3 2/3 frames for the @BuffaloBisons:
Blue Jays: Max Scherzer strikes out six in final rehab outing with Buffalo
Photo credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Jun 6, 2026, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 6, 2026, 10:21 EDT
Max Scherzer’s return to the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation could be imminent.
The right-hander made his second, and potentially final, rehab outing with the Buffalo Bisons on Friday night as he works his way back from the 15-day injured list after dealing with right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation.
Scherzer appeared against the Worcester Red Sox and turned in a pitching line of 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K during the Bisons’ 6-3 loss. Scherzer finished the evening after tossing 73 pitches (44 strikes), 32 pitches more than the 41 he threw during his first outing with the Bisons on May 31.
After tossing two scoreless innings to open his outing, Scherzer ran into his first real sign of trouble during the bottom of the third inning. Scherzer opened the frame by allowing a single to Max Ferguson, then a ground-rule double to Tyler McDonough. After getting Braiden Ward to fly out to right field, Tsung-Che Cheng drove a 1-1 slider to right field for a two-run single, giving the Woo Sox a 2-0 lead.
Scherzer returned for the bottom of the fourth inning and allowed a one-out home run to Woo Sox’s first baseman, Matt Lloyd. Scherzer got ahead in the count 1-2 but was once again beaten after throwing an 88.3 MPH slider that Lloyd was able to tag to right center field for his third home run of the season.
The 41-year-old retired Nathan Hickey via the strikeout and then walked Ferguson before Bisons manager Casey Candaele removed Scherzer in favour of newly signed reliever Justin Topa. Scherzer wrapped up his evening by averaging 93.4 MPH on his fastball and topping out at 95.7 MPH, which is a good sign for the right-hander.
If this is the last rehab outing for Scherzer, the righty will return to the Blue Jays, where he has made five starts and posted a 1-3 record, 9.64 ERA, and 1.61 WHIP across 18.2 innings. Scherzer’s last outing came on April 24 when he allowed seven earned runs across 2.1 innings during an 8-6 loss against the Cleveland Guardians.
In other rehab news, right-hander Tommy Nance pitched in his first game action since May 16 after being placed on the 15-day injured list with right forearm tightness.
Nance appeared in the bottom of the fifth inning with the Bisons on Friday and was hit hard in his return. The 35-year-old turned in a pitching line of 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, and required 22 pitches (14 strikes) to get through his one frame.
The right-hander has appeared in 20 games with the Blue Jays this season and has posted a 0-2 record, a 3.86 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across his 21 innings pitched. The return of Nance would bring another trusted arm to Blue Jays manager John Schneider’s repertoire as the club searches for more success in its bullpen.
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