ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer is set to make a minor league rehab start Wednesday night, which will be the first game action for the 39-year-old Texas Rangers right-hander since back surgery during the offseason.
Scherzer is scheduled to start for Triple-A Round Rock at home against Salt Lake.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy and Scherzer said the plan is to throw about 50 pitches against the Los Angeles Angels' affiliate team. The right-hander threw 40 pitches in a simulated game Friday.
Scherzer had surgery Dec. 15 to repair a herniated disk in his lower back. The eight-time All-Star was forced from his start in Game 3 of the World Series after three innings because of back discomfort.
An MRI after the Rangers won the World Series showed some inflammation in Scherzer's back. He started feeling better before experiencing nerve pain in his leg, then twice had epidural injections before another MRI revealed the herniated disk.
Scherzer was a trade-deadline acquisition for the Rangers last summer, and was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts before missing the last two weeks of the regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs because of a strained muscle in his right shoulder.
His 3,367 career strikeouts are the most among active pitchers, 21 more than Justin Verlander. Scherzer is second on the list of active pitchers with 214 wins and 448 games started.
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FILE - Texas Rangers starter Max Scherzer throws during the first inning of Game 6 of the baseball team's AL Championship Series against the Houston Astros, Oct. 23, 2023, in Houston. Scherzer says he has turned a corner in rehabilitation from back surgery and appears to be ahead of schedule on his return to the Rangers. The three-time Cy Young Award winner is coming off a 40-pitch bullpen session and is planning to throw live batting practice next week. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
Texas Rangers pitcher Max Scherzer watches from the dugout during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
PANAMA CITY (AP) — José Raúl Mulino, the stand-in candidate for disqualified ex-President Ricardo Martinelli, was on a path to victory in Panama's presidential election Sunday night as his three closest rivals conceded.
The 64-year-old former security minister had nearly 35% of the vote, giving him a nine-point lead over other candidates. He was in line to take over leadership of a Central American country with pressing challenges and simmering discontent.
Martinelli, a firebrand politician who was barred from running after being sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering, threw his support behind Mulino, a 64-year-old former security minister who replaced him on the ballot as the candidate for the Achieving Goals and Alliance parties.
While lacking his ally’s charisma, Mulino coasted on Martinelli’s popularity and the booming economy seen under the former leader, who is currently holed up in the Nicaraguan Embassy, where he has sought asylum.
Mulino has promised to help Martinelli with his legal woes if he wins, usher in a new wave of economic prosperity, and stop historic levels of migration through the Darien Gap. He will also have to face the economic aftermath of mass protests last year and a drought that is handicapping the Panama Canal.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
PANAMA CITY (AP) — José Raúl Mulino, the stand-in for disqualified ex-President Ricardo Martinelli in Panama's presidential election, took the lead in early returns Sunday night, holding 34% of the votes and a nearly 10-point lead over his four competitors.
Though only 60% of the votes had been counted, supporters in Mulino's campaign headquarters erupted in celebration, singing and waving flags. Panama doesn't have a runoff system, so the candidate with the biggest share of votes wins.
Eager for change after months of political turmoil and protests, Panamanians weighed promises of economic prosperity and migratory crackdowns against a corruption scandal. The election was consumed by unfolding drama surrounding the country’s former president, even though he was not on the ballot.
“Panama’s election will be one of the most complex in its modern history. The vote is marked by increased political fragmentation and social discontent under outgoing President Laurentino Cortizo,” said Arantza Alonso, senior analyst for the Americas at the risk consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft, before the polls opened.
The presidential race had been in uncertain waters until Friday morning, when Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that Mulino was permitted to run. It said he was eligible despite allegations that his candidacy wasn’t legitimate because he wasn’t elected in a primary.
Mulino joined the race late, replacing former President Ricardo Martinelli as the candidate for the Achieving Goals party. The fiery Martinelli was barred from running in March after he was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering.
Martinelli, a business tycoon who was president of Panama from 2009 to 2014, dominated much of the race. He campaigned for his former running mate from inside the walls of the Nicaraguan Embassy, where he took refuge in February after receiving political asylum. On Sunday morning, Mulino strolled into the Nicaraguan Embassy trailed by photographers and wrapped Martinelli in a big hug, saying, “Brother, we’re going to win!”
While lacking Martinelli’s spunk, Mulino coasted on his connection to the ex-president. He is rarely seen without his blue “Martinelli Mulino 2024” cap and promised to help Martinelli if elected, a pledge welcomed by the ex-president’s supporters.
Panamanians are largely fatigued by the endemic graft that plagues the country. Nonetheless, many are willing to overlook Martinelli’s prison sentence, a 2017 arrest in Florida and other corruption scandals in favor of the humming economy seen during his presidency.
Among them was Juan José Tinoco, voting from his working-class area of small, concrete houses surrounded by extravagant skyscrapers. The 63-year-old bus driver said he planned to vote for Mulino because it was the closest thing he could get to Martinelli, adding that he had earned a decent amount of money during the former president’s time in power.
“We have problems with health services, education, we have garbage in the streets ... and corruption that never goes away,” Tinoco said. “We have money here. This is a country that has lots of wealth, but we need a leader who dedicates himself to the needs of Panama.”
Mulino promised to usher in another wave of economic prosperity, and stop migration through the Darien Gap, the perilous jungle region overlapping Colombia and Panama that was traversed by half a million migrants last year.
While Mulino’s message resonated with many voters, others like 68-year-old Uber driver Emanuel Romero agreed the country needed change but with someone new at the helm.
Romero’s car was painted with banners of Ricardo Lombana, a candidate who has decried corruption and sought to earn the vote of young Panamanians eager for change.
Mulino led polls with around 35% of the vote, while his competitors lagged behind. Former President Martín Torrijos trailed in second at 15%, while former presidential candidates Rómulo Roux and Lombana scooped up 14% and 12% respectively, according to a March poll by the Panamanian Institute of Civic Studies.
“If we want to see more of the same — corruption and our country falling apart — let’s vote for the same people. I will vote for someone independent, and I trust he’ll do things in a better way that will save the country,” Romero said.
No matter who takes the reins, Panama's next president faces an uphill battle, on the economy especially. Last year, the Central American nation was roiled for weeks by mass anti-government protests, which came to encapsulate deeper discontent among citizens.
The protests targeted a government contract with a copper mine, which critics said endangered the environment and water at a time when drought has gotten so bad that it has effectively handicapped trade transit through the Panama Canal.
While many celebrated in November when the country’s Supreme Court declared the contract unconstitutional, the mine closure, the recent slowdown of economic growth and slashed Canal transit will put Panama's new leader in a tight spot.
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Associated Press journalist Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
Supporters of Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino celebrate early results after the closing of polls for general elections in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A screen displays the vote count after the general elections polls closed at the electoral tribunal in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Isaac Ortega)
Supporters of Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino celebrate early results after the closing of polls for general elections in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An electoral worker holds a ballot as he counts them after general elections polls closed in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An electoral worker empties a ballot box to count after general elections polls closed in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An Indigenous woman votes during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A man votes assisted by a woman during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An Indigenous woman votes during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A girl waits for an adult to vote during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Voters check sample ballots on a polling station's wall during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Another Way presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana, center, arrives to vote during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Voters gather outside a polling station during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Democratic Change presidential candidate Romulo Roux votes during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Isaac Ortega)
Martin Torrijos, a former president and presidential candidate for the Popular Party leaves after voting during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Carmen Bernal)
Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino holds his ballot during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A view of the Casco Viejo neighborhood backdropped by the skyline of Panama City before polling stations open during a general election in Panama City, early Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
People line up to vote outside a polling station during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
An electoral worker sticks a ballot on a polling station's wall to use as sample during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A voter holds his ballots after choosing his preferences during a general election in Panama City, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
FILE - Migrants heading north line up to take a boat in Bajo Chiquito in the Darien province of Panama, Oct. 5, 2023, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia. Migration has increased through the Darien jungle, on the border with Colombia, where more than half a million people crossed last year. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco, File)
FILE - Banana vendors wait for customers at the Merca Panama wholesale market in Panama City, April 30, 2024. Panama grew 7.3% last year — the largest expansion in Latin America — but the Gross Domestic Product is expected to barely grow 2.5% in 2024, according to the International Monetary Fund. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Martin Torrijos, a former president and the presidential candidate for the Popular Party, flashes vee finger signs during a campaign rally in Panama City, April 27, 2024. Torrijos, 60 years old and son of the general and leader Omar Torrijos, presents himself as the candidate of experience. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Another Way presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana speaks to supporters during a campaign rally, in Panama City, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Lombana, a 50-year-old lawyer, emerged with strength in the 2019 elections and finished in third place as an independent. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Romulo Roux, presidential candidate for Democratic Change, addresses supporters during a closing campaign rally in Panama City, April 28, 2024. Roux, a 59-year-old former chancellor in the Martinelli government, promises to change the Constitution to dismantle the structures that facilitate corruption. (AP Photo/Agustin Herrera, File)
FILE - Supporters of Achieving Goals presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino attend a campaign rally in Panama City, April 28, 2024. Mulino has promised to usher in a humming economy and stop migration through the Darien Gap, traversed by half a million migrants last year. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino holds his granddaughter Sofia accompanied by his daughter Monique, Sofia's mother, during a campaign event, in Panama City, April 26, 2024. Mulino replaced former president Ricardo Martinelli as the candidate for the Achieving Goals party. Martinelli was barred from running in March, because the ex-president was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
FILE - Former President Ricardo Martinelli sends a video message from inside the Nicaraguan embassy to supporters, during a campaign rally for presidential frontrunner Jose Raul Mulino, in Panama City, April 28, 2024. Martinelli has been campaigning for his former running mate from inside the walls of Nicaragua’s embassy, where he took refuge in February after receiving political asylum. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
This combo of images shows Panama's 2024 presidential frontrunners from a field of 7, from left; Jose Raul Mulino of the Achieving Goals Party, on May 1; Ricardo Lombana of the Another Way Party, on April 30; Romulo Roux of the Democratic Change Party, on April 28; and former President Martin Torrijos of the Popular Party, on April 27, all in Panama City. Panamanians will elect their new president on May 5th. (AP Photos/Files)
A Panamanian flag flies on Ancon hill backdropped by the skyline of Panama City, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Panamanians will elect a new president on May 5th. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
