Nationals' Max Scherzer out for World Series Game 5 vs. Astros with neck spasms
Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer wipes his face during the first inning of Game 1 of the World Series against the Astros on Tuesday in Houston. Credit: AP/Matt Slocum
WASHINGTON — In a city known for October surprises, Nationals manager Dave Martinez dropped one unrelated to politics before Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday.
And it was a bombshell.
About 3 ½ hours before first pitch, Martinez disclosed that scheduled starter Max Scherzer had been scratched because of neck spasms.
“He’s in ungodly pain,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters shortly after the announcement.
Righthander Joe Ross was tabbed to replace Scherzer against Astros ace Gerrit Cole. Ross, 26, pitched two scoreless innings in the Nationals' 4-1 loss to the Astros in Game 3 in his only previous appearance of the postseason. He was 4-4 with a 5.48 ERA in 27 games, including nine starts, in the regular season.
The teams entered Game 5 tied at 2-2. Scherzer, 35, who grinded his way through five innings of a Game 1 victory over Cole, will remain on the World Series roster for now, the hope being he might be able to pitch in Game 7 in Houston on Wednesday night if the series gets that far. But anyone who watched him struggle to lower himself into a chair before answering questions about what he was feeling would find it hard to believe he will throw a baseball anytime soon.
Scherzer received a cortisone shot in his neck that he hopes will loosen things up.
“I woke up this morning completely locked up. I couldn't do anything, couldn't even dress myself,” he said. “I had to have my wife help me.”
He added, “The moment I woke up, it just completely . . . I couldn't get out of bed. Like, it really hurt to get out of bed. I had to just basically fall out of bed and pick myself up with my left arm and I was moving around, just couldn't even move my arm. I just knew at that point I was in a really bad spot.”
The three-time Cy Young Award winner went 11-7 with a 2.92 ERA and 243 strikeouts in 172 1/3 innings in the regular season. He is 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 25 innings this postseason.
Scherzer had two stints on the injured list this season because of back issues, the most recent coming July 29, when he was placed on the IL with what the club called a “mild rhomboid strain” in his back.
Scherzer said this situation is unrelated to the back. “This is more on the top part of the neck. It's more the nerve irritation in the C5, C6 area that's pinched up and causing neck spasms,” he said. “So I really don't believe that the back issue I dealt with in the middle of the year really has anything to do with it. Plus, I've dealt with other little neck spasms, little issues in the past, as well, both on the right and left side, and I've always been able to kind of address it and keep it from really getting out of hand. Unfortunately, this one got out of hand.”
Scherzer said he’s dealt periodically with these spasms. When they started flaring up a couple of days ago, he felt he would be able to handle them again.
“Usually when I get chiropractic adjustments, that usually really helps me out with these neck spasms,” he said. “I've dealt with them in the past, different times where I just need little adjustments here and there. And that's where I thought I was at a couple days ago. If I just do my normal treatment and get adjustments, then I could be able to head this off and keep it from blowing up on me. Unfortunately, this blew up on me to the point where, like I said, I can't move.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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