Max Scherzer Expects 'Fun' Against Justin Verlander for Reeling Texas Rangers in Astros Showdown

Fellow aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander are facing off against each other for the first time Wednesday the Texas Rangers-Houston Astros series finale.

When the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros meet Wednesday night, one club will be looking to stop the bleeding and the other will be looking for a sweep.

The American League-West leading Astros (79-61) have won the first two games of the series by a combined 27-7, including a 14-1 rout Tuesday at Globe Life Field. The Rangers (76-62) have lost 14 of their last 18 games. The series finale is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

While the two Lone Star rivals are locked in a playoff race, all eyes will be on the pitcher’s mound as Justin Verlander faces Max Scherzer. It will be the first time the pair have met as opposing pitchers. They came close in the 2019 World Series, but missed each other by a game.

The pair have been teammates twice before — from 2010-14 with the Detroit Tigers and again earlier this season with the New York Mets. When the pair were traded away, there was always the chance this would happen, the two future Hall of Famers squaring off with something big on the line.

“This will be fun, first time getting to face Ver,” said Scherzer, who is 12-5 with a 3.55 ERA this season. “I’ve been lucky my whole career, I think I’ve gotten to face all the best guys in the world, get to play with all the best guys in the world. I’ve gotten to play with Ver for a while, this is going to be fun to actually go up against him.”

In August, stories filtered out of New York about the pair not getting along. Verlander talked to Houston reporters on Tuesday and admitted that there have been times the pair have butted heads, but that their relationship in New York was actually quite good.

But you have to go back to their time in Detroit to fully understand the evolution.

“I don't know if it's two older, wiser men or what but I look back on our time in Detroit — and not that it ever became really bad I think some of it got blown out of proportion — but it was just two highly-competitive guys trying to find their foothold in the game and were very competitive and had very strong opinions about the way they went about their business,” Verlander said.

“I think looking at each other now through a different lens, it's two guys who do go about things differently, but there's more than one way to be successful.”

Scherzer sounded as if he enjoyed the abbreviated reunion in the Big Apple. 

“It was good to get back with him,” Scherzer said. “He’s obviously one of the great competitors of our time, so it was good to be back with him and really get a download of how he is as a pitcher, and how he’s evolved.

“The game has changed over the seven or eight years we were apart. It was good to get back with him and get inside his pitching mind and how he attacks hitters.”

Verlander (10-7, 3.34) added that their relationship was different and he approached working with Scherzer — and learning from him — differently.

“We've always been a couple of guys who like to share our opinions with some of the younger guys and try to help them and that's a little weird sometimes when you're both very successful,” Verlander said.

“Sometimes those opinions aren't necessarily wanted. Now I think with the different lens that I had for sure — and I'm sure Max would say the same — we just had a mutual appreciation for one another and it wasn't so competitive. That allowed us to have better conversations and learn more about each other just as human beings. We got along very well.”

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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