There’s no way to know for sure.
But when the Toronto Blue Jays began their game on Saturday night, it certainly looked like Max Scherzer could’ve had a bit of retaliation on his mind.
Some Toronto Blue Jays fans on social media simply made the case that it didn’t look like Scherzer had his good stuff — that’d be ironic, since his last time on the mound was his best start of the season.
Still, it’s very possible.
But it’s also possible that the ugly first pitch Scherzer threw against the Kansas City Royals was totally on purpose.
He’ll never tell anyone, but it’s worth thinking about.
What Did Max Scherzer Do?
Scherzer hit the Royals’ leadoff hitter with a pitch on the very first pitch he threw Saturday night.
Carter Jensen stepped in, and while he didn’t get hit too firmly, he did get hit, and so he took first base.
It didn’t help Scherzer protect the quick 2-0 lead the Blue Jays had spotted him. Kansas City almost immediately tied the game up, using their potent top of the order to make things happen once Jensen was on base.
If the hit by pitch was intentional, it was a bit of a tough strategic play for Scherzer.
It’s tough, but there’s another layer to this that makes at least a little bit of sense.
The Extra Layer
If this was on purpose, it didn’t come out of the blue.
On Friday night, it happened in reverse.
Daniel Lynch started Friday’s game for the Royals on the mound, and on the first pitch he threw, he hit Brett Bateman.
That HBP was very firm. Bateman got whacked by Lynch’s initial offering.
So if the Blue Jays had been thinking about such a way to get back at the Royals, this would’ve been it.
Last night, the Daniel Lynch hit Brett Bateman with his first pitch of the game.
Tonight, Max Scherzer hit Carter Jensen with his first pitch of the game.
— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) September 5, 2026
There’s the extra layer of whether the Blue Jays had any reason to think the Royals did it on purpose on Friday, so there’s really a lot of unknowns here that no one will be able to answer.
A lot of the old-school baseball of hit batters and retaliation has gone by the wayside, and for good reason.
Still, Scherzer is definitely a throwback, bulldog-type of pitcher. Maybe he knew exactly what he was doing.
Max Scherzer Immediate Hit By Pitch Looks Like Retaliation For Blue Jays