Mets’ Max Scherzer to IL as Braves tie New York atop NL East

A day after the Mets lost their lead in the National League East, New York will be without one of their two aces for at least the next two weeks. 

On Wednesday, the Mets placed three-time CY Young winner Max Scherzer on the 15-day IL – retroactive to Sept. 4 – with irritation to his left oblique. 

Scherzer missed nearly seven weeks earlier this season with an injury to his left oblique but told reporters that the setback is not as severe. 

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“This is days not weeks,” Scherzer said on Wednesday, according to the New York Post. “This is not a significant injury.”

“Honestly it just feels achy. That is the way I described it, just that my left side feels achy. It’s not a strain. I don’t have one specific spot I can point to where, ‘that hurts.’ It’s just general fatigue on the whole left side.”

Scherzer initially injured his oblique during New York’s May 18th game against the St. Louis Cardinals. He returned to the team in early July and has a 4-3 record in 12 starts since. On the season, Scherzer is 9-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 127.2 innings. 

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“The first time when I did this I had one specific spot,” Scherzer added. “That’s not what this is and so that is the good in this. I have communicated my symptoms and we kind of had conflicting symptoms throughout the game, I felt fatigued. I was throwing the ball well and I have no regrets on how I handled the situation.”

The injury comes at a terrible time for the Mets, which have lost three games in a row and have blown a double-digit lead in the NL East.