Mets scratch Max Scherzer from Tuesday start vs. Reds due to 'neck spasms'

CINCINNATI — Just when it appeared that the Mets had their two aces finally in line atop the starting rotation, that order hit another snag on Tuesday afternoon.

Max Scherzer was scratched from Tuesday's start against the Reds on Tuesday night as he deals with neck spasms. David Peterson was called up to start in Scherzer's place while Jimmy Yacabonis was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left quad strain.

Scherzer said he expects to be day-to-day and pitch at some point during the Mets' seven-day road trip. Buck Showalter said the earlier Scherzer would pitch would be Thursday against the Reds.

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"I don't think it's gonna linger just because of the nature of these," Scherzer said. "I've had them before where your neck locks up. You just got to give it a couple days and it loosens up. You’ve just gotta give it time. It's not a strain."

The diagnosis and a history

Scherzer threw a light bullpen session on Sunday and started to feel like his neck was "a little barky" following a workout that same day. He said his neck was completely locked up when he woke up on Monday morning.

It is not the first time that Scherzer has dealt with neck spasms. In 2019, Scherzer was scratched ahead of his Game 5 start in the World Series as he dealt with a similar issue. That history is what gives him confidence that it will only be a few days.

"There wasn't an event or one thing I can point to where, like ‘Oh yeah, that's what happened,’" Scherzer said. "No, it just kind of gradually came on and blew up in the morning. That's my reason for optimism that it's only gonna be a couple days."

Scherzer has been dealing with discomfort below his right scapula since late April when he had a start pushed back three days as he dealt with lingering discomfort. In that start against the Dodgers on April 19, Scherzer was ejected and later suspended for 10 games for violating Major League Baseball's foreign substance use rules.

He is unsure whether the two situations are related.

"I think we all kind of have that like, ‘Hey, is this stemming from the back?’" Scherzer said. "That's a fair like logic thing, but at the same time I've gotten neck spasms without having a scap injury."

The 38-year-old right-hander struggled in his return on May 3 against the Tigers when he gave up six earned runs on eight hits, including a pair of home runs, in 3⅓ innings as he suffered his second loss of the season. This season, Scherzer is 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA and 1.41 WHIP in five starts. He has struck out 20 batters in 22⅔ and seen his velocity drop nearly 1 mph off last season.

Scherzer's inability to try and bounce back is what has frustrated him most.

"I can look everybody in the eye and say, ‘Look, I didn't do anything to jeopardize this, to make this come about,’" Scherzer said. "I was doing everything to not have it be like this. I think if we're frustrated by this, it's because of how I pitched and I just want to get out there and pitch and pitch well and get over this and then get going on this year."

David Peterson's return

After one start with Triple-A Syracuse after being sent down on April 29, Peterson made the trip to Cincinnati. In six starts with the Mets this season, the 27-year-old left-hander is 1-4 with a 7.34 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 30⅔ innings.

Peterson's demotion was done to make room for the return of Justin Verlander, who made his Mets debut on May 4 against the Tigers after missing the opening month of the season with a low-grade teres major strain on his right side.

With injuries across the board, beginning with Jose Quintana's trip to the 60-day IL following bone graft surgery in March, the Mets starting rotation has struggled through 35 games. The unit is 24th in MLB with a 5.34 ERA, 29th in home runs per nine innings (1.03 per start) and 30th in walks per nine innings (2.49 per start).

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mets scratch Max Scherzer from start vs. Reds due to injury