July 30, 2024; St. Louis, MO, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) pitches during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports The Texas Rangers placed veteran right-hander Max Scherzer on the 15-day injured list on Friday due to fatigue in his pitching shoulder.
The move was retroactive to Wednesday, one day after Scherzer threw 68 pitches and allowed three runs in four innings in the Rangers’ 8-1 road loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Scherzer, who turned 40 on Saturday, missed the first 2 1/2 months of the season while recovering from back surgery. Since returning on June 23, he has gone 2-4 with a 3.89 ERA in eight starts (39 1/3 innings total) for Texas.
A 17-year veteran, Scherzer has a 216-112 record, a career 3.16 ERA, three Cy Young Awards, eight All-Star selections and two World Series championships.
The defending champion Rangers entered Friday with a 52-57 record, 4 1/2 games out of first place in the American League West.
Texas made a similar move on Friday, promoting left-hander Walter Pennington from Triple-A Round Rock.
The Rangers acquired Pennington from the Royals on Monday in a deal that sent right-hander Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City.
The 26-year-old Pennington has appeared in 38 games (two starts) in the minor leagues this season, going 6-3 with two saves and a 2.20 ERA. He pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in his debut in Round Rock on Thursday.
In three-plus seasons in the minor leagues, Pennington compiled a 22-11 record with a 3.52 ERA and 257 strikeouts in 243 innings in 148 games (four starts).
Pennington made one major league appearance, striking out two-thirds of an inning on July 5 against the Colorado Rockies.
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