A fired-up Max Scherzer refused to come out of the game and got into an animated exchange with Blue Jays manager John Schneider in Game 4.

Schneider punched Scherzer in the stomach and said, “Go get it.” Later, he would joke with Scherzer that he had been eager for such an exchange since their first Zoom call during free agency. The Jays in February signed Scherzer to a one-year, $15.5 million contract dreaming he would make one of his classic October stands.

The Toronto veteran was not masterful, but he channeled the grit of his youth—and a pitch no one expected—to pick up his first playoff win since 2019.

Max Scherzer led the Toronto Blue Jays to an emphatic 8-2 win on Sunday as they levelled the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners after four games.

In October, every pitch, swing, play and decision is heightened everywhere. On the field, in the dugout, in the game-planning meetings pregame and, more than any time or any other place, after the game is played out and the result of all those decisions are final.