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Vintage Scherzer, Guerrero help Blue Jays rally past Phillies

18 0
08.08.2026

PHILADELPHIA — Career strikeout No. 3,516, good for 10th all-time, was classic Max Scherzer. He jumped out ahead of Kyle Schwarber 1-2, tried to get the selective slugger to chase with a slider and curveball, and then completed the milestone punchout with a 94.3 m.p.h. fastball at the bottom of the zone that froze the Philadelphia Phillies’ leadoff hitter.

Even in the midst of a whack-a-mole season of ailments, the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer is still capable of big outings and big moments, of which passing Walter Johnson certainly qualifies.

Still, the margins can be thin and they were in that fateful sixth inning, as Schwarber’s strikeout was immediately followed by back-to-back home runs from Trea Turner and Bryce Harper that erased a 2-0 deficit and knocked Scherzer from the game. Spencer Miles followed, and three hits and a sacrifice fly later, the Phillies had two more runs to take the lead. But the Blue Jays didn’t relent as an evening that began with Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s promising return eventually ended in a 7-5 win thanks to Nathan Lukes’ two-run homer in the 11th on Saturday.

The Blue Jays rallied to tie the game 4-4 in the eighth inning when Andres Gimenez’s two-run double off lefty Jose Alvarado plated Guerrero, who walked, and George Springer, who pinch-ran for Alejandro Kirk after a walk of his own. Gimenez and Luis Arraez then traded sacrifice flies in the 10th before Lukes took Chase Shugart deep. 

Lazaro Estrada, the Blue Jays’ fifth reliever, handled the bottom half for his first career save after intentionally balking Brandon Marsh to third with two........

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