SEATTLE, WA – OCTOBER 16: Max Scherzer #31 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during Game Four of the American League Championship Series presented by loanDepot between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on Thursday, October 16, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Rod Mar/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
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Game Two of the 2025 World Series was a pitching masterpiece courtesy of right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto as he led the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. The 27-year-old pitcher threw the first World Series complete game since Kansas City Royals right-hander Johnny Cueto defeated the New York Mets by the score of 7-1 in Game Two of the 2015 World Series. Yamamoto has thrown back-to-back complete games in the 2025 National League Championship Series and World Series for the first time since right-hander Curt Schilling of the Arizona Diamondbacks threw three consecutive complete games across the 2001 National League Division and Championship Series. According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, this is the eighth time in franchise history this feat has been accomplished by seven pitchers dating back to the 1920 World Series when left-hander Sherry Smith threw consecutive complete games while pitching for the Brooklyn Robins. Three of the pitchers have also won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award since its inception in 1955: left-handers Johnny Podres (1955) and Sandy Koufax (1963 and 1965) along with right-hander Orel Hershiser (1988).
As the 2025 World Series shifts to Dodger Stadium tied at one game apiece, all eyes will be on two former Cy Young Award winners who will be toeing the rubber on the pitcher’s mound for the Toronto Blue Jays at entirely different phases of their careers. Game Three will feature 41-year-old right-hander Max Scherzer while the Game Four starter will be 30-year-old right-hander Shane Bieber. A three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion, Scherzer is winding down a first-ballot Hall of Fame career in his 18th major league season. Over the past five seasons, Scherzer has been a baseball vagabond pitching for five different franchises and made headlines due to a three-year, $130 million contract with the New York Mets prior to his age-37 season in 2022 which produced an astonishing $43,333,333 average annual value for a starting pitcher according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts.
Bieber was traded by the Cleveland Guardians to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 31, 2025, as he was recovering from April 2024 ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery on his right elbow. The 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner, Bieber made his 2025 regular season debut on August 22nd and has posted a 4.38 earned run average in 12.1 innings over three postseason starts for the Toronto Blue Jays. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, Bieber’s two-year, $26 million contract has a $16 million player option for the 2026 season with a $4 million buyout.
Max Scherzer Returns To The World Series
Scherzer has appeared in the World Series on three occasions with three different ball clubs prior to his time with the Toronto Blue Jays: Detroit Tigers (2012), Washington Nationals (2019) and Texas Rangers (2023). When he steps on the mound for Game Three, Scherzer will become the first ball player to pitch in the World Series for four ball clubs according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. There is only one other ball player who has played for four ball clubs in the World Series and that is outfielder Lonnie Smith: Philadelphia Phillies (1980), St. Louis Cardinals (1982), Kansas City Royals (1985) and Atlanta Braves (1991 and 1992). He is a three-time World Series champion according to Baseball-Reference.
In stark contrast to the stoic Yamamoto, Scherzer thrives on rage as it serves as fuel for him. In 17 starts during the 2025 regular season, Scherzer has pitched into the seventh inning twice and exceeded 100 pitches only once in a ball game. The last time he accomplished both in the postseason occurred in the same ball game on October 11, 2021, where Scherzer threw seven innings of three-hit baseball over 110 pitches in a 1-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants in Game Three of the National League Division Series according to Baseball-Reference. It also marks the last time Scherzer had a double-digit strikeout performance (10) in the postseason.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 16: Manager John Schneider #14 of the Toronto Blue Jays walks to the mound to talk to Max Scherzer #31 during the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners in game four of the American League Championship Series at T-Mobile Park on October 16, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
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Scherzer was left off the Toronto Blue Jays’ American League Division Series roster and is mindful of his current limitations. Over Scherzer’s last nine regular season starts, he posted a 9.00 earned run average and surrendered 25 earned runs over 25 innings and eight home runs. On the season, 19 home runs were hit off Scherzer over 85 innings according to Baseball-Reference. In Game Four of the 2025 American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners, he threw 87 pitches over 5.2 innings with 45 (51.7%) being four-seam fastballs at an average velocity of 94.2 mph according to Baseball Savant. However, Scherzer could only get four swings and misses on the four-seam fastball.
Max Scherzer And Previous World Series Experience
In four starts over 19.1 innings across three World Series, Scherzer has struck out 19 batters while posting a 3.26 earned run average according to Baseball-Reference. Scherzer even pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2021 postseason where he appeared in four ball games (three starts) across the National League Wild Card, Division and Championship Series. In 16.2 innings, Scherzer posted a 2.22 earned run average while striking out 23 batters. He will always be remembered in Los Angeles for not pitching in Game Six of the 2021 National League Championship Series versus the Atlanta Braves due to a dead arm, otherwise known as muscle fatigue. The Los Angeles Dodgers lost the ball game 4-2 and the National League Championship Series in six games.
TORONTO, ONTARIO – OCTOBER 20: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 and Max Scherzer #31 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate on the field after defeating the Seattle Mariners in game seven of the American League Championship Series at the Rogers Centre on October 20, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
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Scherzer is one of four pitchers who has struck out at least 3,000 batters, won three Cy Young Awards and two World Series titles alongside right-handers Roger Clemens, Justin Verlander and Hall of Fame left-hander Steve Carlton. An asterisk is placed next to Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw since he didn’t pitch in the 2024 postseason due to a bone spur in his big left toe while only making seven starts during the regular season due to a prolonged recovery from offseason shoulder surgery. As the Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series with Kershaw as a spectator, he has amassed 3,052 career strikeouts, three Cy Young Awards and a 2020 World Series title.
As Max Scherzer is the embodiment of a generation of starting pitchers who no longer exist, it would be great to see a vintage performance from him one last time in the 2025 World Series. While Scherzer is not expected to replicate what Yoshinobu Yamamoto did in terms of innings or pitch count, he has a lot to prove if the Toronto Blue Jays aspire to win their third World Series title in franchise history. Besides command and control of his pitching repertoire, the Toronto Blue Jays need Scherzer to set the tone in Game Three with his intensity and ultra-competitive spirit.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/waynemcdonnell/2025/10/27/why-2025-world-series-needs-a-vintage-performance-from-max-scherzer/
