Max Scherzer Hopes For The Best: 'I Don't Think This Is A Major Strain'

When Mets ace Max Scherzer pulled himself out of the game on Wednesday -- during the middle of an at-bat with Albert Pujols, no less -- fans understandably feared the worst. But on Thursday, Scherzer gave himself and fans reason to hope that he hadn't sustained serious injury.

"I don't think this is a major strain," Scherzer said. "I was kind of tight and then all of a sudden it went. But I don't feel like I really ripped it. It just kind of got worse. So hopefully I got out of there quick enough to prevent a major injury here because I know oblique, intercostal, those things can be nasty. Hopefully I avoided a serious injury."

Let's revisit the moment that Scherzer decided he was done for the day:

Mets manager Buck Showalter admits he was definitely concerned at the time.

"I don't rush out there, because usually it's not really good news," Showalter said. "(Scherzer has) been a great self-evaluator. He knows when he's at a point where if he pushes more, it's going to turn into something serious.

"He's not going to put himself in harm's way. A lot of guys might have tried to continue to pitch. I'm hoping we caught whatever's in there at an earlier stage of it."

So is Scherzer, his teammates, and pretty much every Mets fan in America. Though Scherzer's replacement Adam Ottavino retired Pujols and the Mets ultimately prevailed 11-4 over the Cardinals, they already have one key starter out of the pitching rotation and could hardly afford another one.

According to OutKick's Alejandro Avila, "With the Mets (25-14) already missing Jacob deGrom on the mound, New York’s lineup of pitching will find itself in trouble if Scherzer’s injury proves serious."

Scherzer is scheduled to have an MRI on Thursday. We at OutKick will update you as soon as we hear anything.