Phillies chase Max Scherzer off the mound early in 7-4 win over Blue Jays

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jun 10, 2026

Published in Baseball

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TORONTO — Max Scherzer motioned for a mound visit.

The Phillies had put two runners on against him, and the veteran Toronto Blue Jays pitcher had just run to cover first base on a fielder’s choice. He wanted a breather before facing Alec Bohm.

But it didn’t work. After play resumed, Scherzer hung a slider to Bohm, and he crushed it for his eighth homer of the season. The three-run shot to left field broke the game open in the third inning as the Phillies beat Toronto, 7-4, to win the series.

A day after blowing his first save of the season, Jhoan Duran made his third consecutive appearance in the ninth. He sidestepped two singles to pick up his 17th save.

Adolis García left the game in the seventh inning with a pulled muscle in the right shoulder area after making a throw to the plate. Steward Berroa took over in right field.

Scherzer was making his first start for Toronto since hitting the injured list on April 27. The 41-year-old had struggled this season before that, and the Phillies stayed patient in their approach against him.

Bryce Harper set the tone in the first inning with a solo homer that bounced off Toronto’s bullpen railing that put the Phillies up, 1-0. They continued to tack on from there.

Once Scherzer’s night ended after 3 1/3 innings, Kyle Schwarber didn’t let up against Toronto’s bullpen. He launched his eighth homer of the season off a left-hander, with Mason Fluharty becoming his latest victim.

It all gave Jesús Luzardo a sizable cushion to work with as he cruised for the first five innings. He racked up eight strikeouts and held Toronto to four hits, all singles.

The Jays finally got to him and spoiled the shutout in the sixth. Luzardo issued back-to-back walks for the second time, but this time he couldn’t get out of it unscathed when backup catcher Brandon Valenzuela — who walked-off Duran on Tuesday night — singled to right field to score a run.

The Phillies got the run back in the top of the seventh inning, when Harper drew a walk, then Bohm and Bryson Stott hit back-to-back singles.

The Jays started to make things interesting in the seventh. Chase Shugart made his first appearance since June 6 and struggled with his command, issuing a leadoff single and then three consecutive walks to force in a run before recording an out. A deep sacrifice fly to the right field warning track brought home another run, and Brad Keller took over. Keller gave up a sacrifice fly that scored another run.

José Alvarado pitched a scoreless eighth. He struck out Valenzuela to reach 500 for his career.

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