"Mad Max" until the end, Max Scherzer has his own Justin Verlander farewell moment for the Blue Jays

For one final afternoon in 2026, Max Scherzer turned back the clock and gave Toronto Blue Jays fans everything they had come to expect from “Mad Max.” There was the intensity that he became synonymous with over his 19 year career. It was a game that meant nothing in the standings but when he punched out seven Cincinnati Reds hitters, every single one felt like Scherzer still had something to prove.

Then there was the refusal to surrender the baseball. With two outs in the seventh inning, manager John Schneider jogged out to the mound, and a recreation of their famous encounter from Game Four of the 2025 ALCS occurred. Scherzer told Schneider exactly how he felt and where he could go.

And when it was finally over, he gave the fans a farewell that felt every bit as emotional as the one longtime friend and former teammate Justin Verlander received a day earlier in Detroit.

Pitching on three days’ rest in what may have been the final appearance of his career, the 42-year-old Scherzer delivered seven-plus innings of one-run baseball in Toronto’s 5-1 season-ending win over the Reds. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out seven while throwing a season-high 114 pitches. It concluded with Scherzer getting credit for the 225th win of his career.

It was a full day of Scherzer owning the spotlight. His teammates remained in the dugout while he walked to the mound alone before warming up in the top of the first. 42,131 fans at Rogers Centre greeted him with a standing ovation. Scherzer stepped off the rubber and acknowledged the fans with a wave.

Scherzer came back out to start the eighth inning, but a leadoff walk to Oswaldo Cabrera brought Schneider from the dugout again, to another chorus of boos. This time, Scherzer smiled, handed over the ball and embraced his manager. He waved to the crowd on his way off the field, hugged teammates and coaches in the dugout and then climbed into the stands to share the moment with his wife and children.

In Detroit, a similar scene played out when Verlander’s daughter, ran to the mound to embrace her father when he was removed in the sixth inning, and not a dry eye was found in the ball park.

The careers of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander will be forever intwined

The two aces have been connected for much of their careers. They were teammates in Detroit, won World Series championships elsewhere and built Hall of Fame résumés along the way. Verlander ended his 21-year career with 3,560 strikeouts. Scherzer finished the 2026 season with 3,557, leaving him ninth on Major League Baseball’s all-time list and only three behind his former teammate.

Unlike Verlander, Scherzer has not announced his retirement and he could return for a 20th season somewhere in MLB - whether that be with the Blue Jays or not remains to be seen. He has said he will wait until later in the off-season to decide. If one thing is for sure, Scherzer did not look like a pitcher limping toward retirement. He looked like a pitcher that was ready to go the distance and chase one more championship.

The outing was a final burst of vintage greatness after an uneven season for both Scherzer and the Blue Jays. Toronto followed its run to the 2025 World Series with a 79-83 record and no postseason appearance. Scherzer finished 4-9, and battled injuries for most of the year. He finally settled in and gave the Blue Jays some much needed stability in the second half. It just wasn't enough for them to ever get into a comfortable position to reach the postseason.

If this was Scherzer’s final start, he left the mound on his terms: still firing, still fighting and still convinced there was one more out to get.

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