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New York Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer throws during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Monday, June 19, 2023, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
HOUSTON (AP) — Max Scherzer went back to basics with his slider and it led to a fantastic performance.
Francisco Lindor homered and drove in five runs, and Scherzer pitched eight strong innings for his longest outing with the New York Mets in their 11-1 victory over the skidding Houston Astros on Monday night.
Scherzer (6-2) gave up four hits and struck out eight to rebound from consecutive rough starts against the Braves and Yankees. He was tagged for seven hits and six runs over 3 1/3 innings last week in a no-decision at home against the Yankees.
“After the Atlanta start, I didn’t like where my changeup was at and I made a little tweak to my changeup and I felt like I found my changeup,” Scherzer said. “I just applied that tweak, that little adjustment, to my slider. Well, that adjustment to the slider screwed everything up for the Yankees start. So I just went back and undid that change and that’s it.”
The win was New York’s first over the Astros since Sept. 28, 2014, at Citi Field, snapping a seven-game skid. The Mets had lost eight in a row in Houston since their previous win here in May 2011.
Daniel Vogelbach, who tied a season-high with three RBIs, homered off rookie Hunter Brown (6-4) to start the third. The Mets were up 2-0 with one out in the inning when Lindor’s three-run shot made it 5-0. Vogelbach has homered twice in the last four games after the slumping slugger was benched for six games.
The last time Scherzer went eight innings was Sept. 12, 2021, when he tossed eight scoreless frames of one-hit ball for the Los Angeles Dodgers against San Diego.
Mets manager Buck Showalter said his team needed this kind of outing from Scherzer to…
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