Buck Showalter raves about Max Scherzer: 'It's just an honor to watch him pitch'

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The Mets offense couldn’t get much going on Friday night against the Mariners, but Max Scherzer was his typically dominant self, allowing one run over seven innings to drop his season ERA to 2.66.

Soon to be 38 years old, the righty is proving to be worth every cent of his record-breaking three-year deal that he signed this past offseason, and manager Buck Showalter is just grateful to be watching him pitch for a team he manages, and no longer against one.

“I’ve seen it from both dugouts, and it’s a lot more fun in the one that he’s pitching for you,” Showalter said. “Every once in a while you catch yourself just watching him compete…the second he walks in here, he’s getting ready to compete and pitch.”

Showalter watched Scherzer’s rise to dominance from afar, managing the Orioles while the righty was turning in a pair of All-Star season with the Tigers before signing a long-term deal with the Nationals, where he earned six more All-Star nods and a World Series title. Now, in his 15th big league season, Scherzer is proving that he still has what it takes to dominate a league that still can’t figure him out.

“He fortifies what it takes…to compete at this level,” Showalter said. “There’s no secrets about what he’s gonna do when he goes out there, and he’s still able to do it.”

In a year where coaches have been extra careful with their pitchers early on given the shortened spring training as a result of the lockout, Scherzer has gone at least six full innings in all but one start this season, and gone seven in three of his seven starts. Every time he takes the mound, the Mets have a chance to win, and he has been the perfect fill-in ace in Jacob deGrom’s absence, considering Scherzer has been an ace himself for the past decade.

“I see the homework and the work he does preparing with the catchers,” Showalter said. “It’s just an honor to watch him pitch and compete every fifth day.”

Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1

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