Max Scherzer heads to Blue Jays' IL with shoulder, ankle issues amid early-season struggles

Max Scherzer will have to wait for his 3,500th strikeout. The struggling veteran right-hander, who has been one strikeout shy of the milestone for the last nine days, was placed on 15-day injured list with forearm and ankle ailments on Monday, leaving a hole in the Toronto Blue Jays’ rotation.Scherzer allowed seven earned runs in his 2 1/3 inning start against the Cleveland Guardians last week, pushing his season ERA to 9.64. He entered the outing one strikeout shy of 3,500 but earned just two whiffs and no strikeouts on 82 pitches. After the outing, he said his forearm was not the cause of his poor performance.Advertisement