TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer is not making progress in recovering from right forearm tendinitis and will seek additional medical opinions.
A 41-year-old right-hander, the three-time Cy Young Award winner was put on the injured list on April 27 because of the forearm injury and left ankle inflammation, a move retroactive to April 25. He had a light throwing session Wednesday before Toronto’s 3-0 loss to Tampa Bay.
“It’s as confusing as anything I’ve ever had because, usually, if you go get an MRI, you would see something,” Scherzer said. “I would think that would show up, and yet there’s nothing in there on an MRI. There’s no strains. There is no inflammation, per se. So, I’m going to have to talk to more doctors to figure out a course of action here.”
Scherzer is 1-3 with a 9.24 ERA in five starts after signing a $3 million, one-year contract that includes $10 million in available performance bonuses for innings. He has given up seven runs or more in two of his past three starts and failed to get out of the third inning in three outings.
Scherzer went 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 regular-season starts last year. He also was the winning pitcher in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series with Seattle and made two starts in the World Series.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that the team will continue to be cautious with Scherzer, who says his ankle is improving.
“I think he’s just waiting (for his arm) to feel like his ankle does to really start going,” Schneider said. “There’s no real firm timetable as to when he’s going to really start getting after it. I think we’ll know more in a couple of days.”
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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer throws to a Cleveland Guardians batter in first-inning baseball game action in Toronto, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, center, is taken out in the third inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians by manager John Schneider, front left, in Toronto, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Jon Blacker/The Canadian Press via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Joel Embiid was sidelined for Game 2 of the Philadelphia 76ers' second-round series against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night with a sprained right ankle and a sore right hip.
The 76ers had listed their center as probable to play, mentioning only the ankle, before adding the hip problem on the injury report and ruling him out about six hours before trying to even the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Coach Nick Nurse said Embiid woke up with soreness and was treated during the 76ers' morning shootaround. The team's medical staff determined afterward that Embiid would be unable to play.
“He’s really disappointed. He really wants to be out there,” Nurse said, adding that Adem Bona and Andre Drummond would likely share Embiid's minutes.
Embiid struggled through a short night in the Knicks' 137-98 romp in Game 1, scoring 14 points on 3-for-11 shooting in 25 minutes before the starters were benched with the game out of reach.
Embiid had been listed as probable to play in that game with a bruised right hip before being cleared, and the Knicks repeatedly took advantage of his lack of mobility to create open shots.
Embiid returned from a late-season appendectomy during Game 4 of Philadelphia's first-round series against Boston and helped the 76ers overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the series. He has averaged 25.2 points in five games thus far.
It's unclear whether the pain around Embiid's hip is replated to the appendectomy. He winced and grabbed his abdomen at one point in Game 1 after Knicks guard Mikal Bridges collided with him on a screen in the first half.
Embiid later said he felt the contact was unnecessary.
“Obviously based on what’s been going on, I guess I’ve got to protect it more,” Embiid said. “I don’t know if it was dirty or not, so I guess I’ve got to do a better job of protecting, especially that part.”
The Sixers won't have Embiid to match up with Knicks All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, and they'll likely need much more from Tyrese Maxey. The speedy point guard also struggled through Game 1, going 3 for 9 for 13 points after averaging 26.9 in the first round.
The 76ers, however, are used to playing without Embiid. It has been years since the former MVP has truly been healthy.
“I said this before, but coming back from that appendectomy so quick was not easy for him to do,” Nurse said. “He’s worked extremely hard to get back and he continues to want to play badly and I feel really bad for him, because he really wants to be out there and we want him out there.”
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Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid reacts during the first half of Game 1 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the New York Knicks Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
