Mad Max proved to be an apt nickname.
Veteran starter Max Scherzer lost his cool after outfielder Jesus Sanchez inexplicably misplayed a routine fly ball — his second costly defensive gaffe of the game — into a two-run single that burned Toronto in its 7-6 loss to the Rays on Wednesday.
Scherzer appeared quite ticked after recovering the baseball after the play, shooting a glare in Sanchez’s direction after the Rays took a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning.
Sanchez also misplayed a fly ball into a ground-rule double into the first inning.
“Today wasn’t the best day for him,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said of Sanchez, per MLB.com.
Sanchez is not known for his defensive prowess and those limitations played a significant role in a tough loss for a 62-66 Toronto team hoping to make a run at a Wild Card spot.
While acknowledging the fallacy of the predetermined outcome, Scherzer certainly deserved a far better fate than his four-inning, seven-run disaster.
In the first he induced a fly ball to left from Junior Caminero with none on and one out that perhaps crossed paths with one of the infamous catwalk. The ball ultimately landed quite close to Sanchez before hopping over the short wall to award the slugger a ground-rule double.
Scherzer struck out the next batter, in theory meaning he would have been out of the inning had Sanchez not misplayed the previous ball, before Yandy Diaz followed with a two-run homer.
The future Hall of Fame pitcher blamed himself for the pitch.
“That’s not acceptable,” Scherzer said, according to MLB.com. “I’m a team guy; I don’t sit here and point fingers and talk about other people’s mistakes. I talk about my mistakes, and I’m accountable.”
Two innings later, Sanchez again left his mark on the game in a bad way.
The Blue Jays trailed 2-1 and the Rays had the bases loaded with one out when Scherzer induced a soft fly ball to left from Richie Palacious.
Sanchez ran in but somehow completely misread the ball, with it landing to his right and allowing two runs to score. The runner from third wasn’t in position to tag had Sanchez caught the ball.
Scherzer suddenly went from being one out away from being through the jam to ultimately allowing five runs in the frame to give Tampa Bay a 7-1 lead.
The ex-Met immediately did a 180 and may have yelled a curse after watching the ball dunk in.
Sanchez did not speak to reporters after the game.
“I’m sure it’s a play [Sánchez] would have liked to have made,” Schneider said, per MLB.com.
“…He kind of looked like he kind of didn’t see it. Or saw it and didn’t see it. You’ve got to check with him on what he saw.”
As Scherzer let Sanchez know how he felt via his body language, Rays announcer Brian Anderson also teed off on the outfielder.
“Oh, he is livid and I do not blame him,” Anderson said of Scherzer. “He wasn’t real happy with the ball that Caminero hit that bounced for a grounds-rule double. This is a fly ball for Jesus Sanchez. I have no idea — no idea — what he is doing, and I don’t think anybody else does either.
“That was up there long enough should have been routine, plenty of time to get there and he’s running away from it.”
