Right-hander Max Scherzer has over 217 wins across an 18-year career in the big leagues, and last night, he earned his first win under the Blue Jays banner. Signing with the club this past winter, this was his fifth start with the club due to an early-season thumb injury that cut his debut short.

Scherzer tossed six innings and 90 pitches, striking out eight batters and allowing five hits, one walk, and three earned runs in the eventual 7-6 finish. He didn’t allow any runs until the bottom of the sixth, with Athletics rookie Nick Kurtz launching a two-run homer over the centre field wall to get things started for the home team. The Jays starter left a four-seam fastball middle-middle, and Kurtz tattoo’d it 433 feet. Trying to finish the inning, Scherzer had two outs on the board before Tyler Soderstrom launched a solo shot of his own, a changeup on the outside of the plate that the lefty batter was able to find and smack over the centre field wall as well.

The future Hall of Famer finished the day with 16 whiffs, with five of his punchouts coming the swinging K, and he also got some help from Lawrence Butler, who was called out for a time violation as well. When Scherzer departed, the Jays had already put up seven runs on the board thanks to a strong fifth inning, and the bullpen continued to keep the game outside of arm’s reach.

Braydon Fisher, Brendon Little, and Yariel Rodriguez combined to pitch two clean innings, with Little and Rodriguez registering three and two strikeouts, respectively. Jeff Hoffman came into the ninth and struggled with his command, delivering a wild pitch and also allowing three runs (including a solo home run) to make the game close. He was able to escape the jam by striking out Nick Kurtz.

Offensively, every Blue Jays batter got into the hit column except for George Springer and Ernie Clement. Meanwhile, Nathan Lukes, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Alejandro Kirk, and Will Wagner all had multi-hit days with two hits apiece, and Lukes and Kirk also chipped in two RBIs each. It was an unusual day at the plate for Toronto, as the club combined for 11 strikeouts, a rare number for a squad that posts one of the top rates in the country when it comes to avoiding the punchout.

The bats got on the board in the fourth inning thanks to a sac fly from Clement that scored Bichette, but the real damage was done in the fifth inning. Toronto capitalized on a throwing error by Zack Gelof but also used their speed on the base paths to get into scoring position, with Guerrero, Barger, and Springer (he got on via the error) all stealing a base, with the Jays veteran stealing home on a double steal attempt with Guerrero. A few singles, a Nathan Lukes double, a hit by pitch, and a walk later, and the Jays scored six of their seven runs.

Guerrero also had a night to remember, as the slugger collected his 1000th hit in the big leagues, becoming the youngest player in Blue Jays history to accomplish the feat.

With this win, Toronto bounces back from their finale against the White Sox, which saw their ten-game winning streak snap on Wednesday. Kevin Gausman will look to keep the momentum going this afternoon when the Jays face Athletics left-hander Jacob Lopez.