The Toronto Blue Jays are one win away from ending their championship drought of 32 years, but the choice to give the ball to 41-year-old Max Scherzer in Game 7 has raised real worries. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has postseason experience, but his recent problems at home and weakness against home runs have made fans and analysts wonder if experience alone can make up for bad statistics.

Nick Gosse of Jays Digest captured the anxiety perfectly. “Max Scherzer, if there’s anyone who’s built for a game seven in theory, it’s him. But he’s 40-plus years old,” Gosse explained on his YouTube channel. The worry goes beyond age, though.

Scherzer is now only the fourth pitcher to start more than one winner-take-all Game 7. He joins Bob Gibson, Lew Burdette, and Don Larsen. In 2019, he last played like this. He gave up two runs in five innings, and Washington came back to win. That performance was followed by a cortisone shot for his neck problem before Game 5 against the Astros, for which he was even scratched from the same game.

But now, five years later, the stakes seem even higher.

Gosse articulated what many are thinking.

“He might give up four home runs in the first inning. He might shove through six or seven, and the Jays easily win game seven, or it could come down to the wire.” Scherzer gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings in Game 3, which went on for 18 innings before the Dodgers won. But Toronto’s bullpen is ready, and Trey Yesavage, who enthusiastically confirmed his availability with a “Hell yeah,” is one of them.

Still, Scherzer needs to pitch enough innings to get to Chris Bassitt and the high-leverage arms.

Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani is getting ready for his own historic moment across the diamond.

The two-way star will start on the mound for Los Angeles, using the 2022 rule that lets starting pitchers stay as designated hitters after they leave the game. Ohtani’s bat has been a nightmare for Toronto all series. He’s hitting .318 with three home runs and eight walks.

Even with a 6.00 ERA in Game 4, he struck out six batters in 93 pitches. By starting Ohtani instead of relieving him, the Dodgers keep their DH spot open for the whole game, which gives them more strategic options.

Ohtani gambles on short rest against Blue Jays lineup

The superstar is going to pitch again after only three days of rest. On Tuesday, he threw 93 pitches in six innings in Game 4. This is a huge change from the way things are usually done in modern pitching, and Ohtani’s career shows that he was careful.

Ohtani has pitched in MLB with less than five days of rest only once. It was in 2023 with the Angels, but the rain stopped his start after just two innings and 31 pitches. The Angels put him back out there after three days of rest, and he was great, striking out 11 batters and not allowing a run in seven innings.

But there were at least 10 days between each of his postseason starts this season until this Game 7. This is the first time he will pitch on real short rest after a full start.

Things get even messier when you think about how the Toronto Blue Jays already beat him once.

In Game 4, the Blue Jays scored four earned runs and got six hits off of Ohtani. This gave their hitters a boost of confidence and memory. Now, the crowd at Rogers Centre adds to the emotion because Toronto fans saw Ohtani choose Los Angeles over the Blue Jays in free agency almost two years ago.

The Dodgers will probably use Ohtani as an opener instead of expecting a normal start. Game 7 needs every available arm, and Los Angeles will probably take him out after one trip through the batting order. This strategic deployment makes the most of his impact while keeping the bullpen flexible for the important late innings.