Suárez outduels Scherzer in season-best 6-inning gem
BALTIMORE — Albert Suárez is only five years younger than Max Scherzer. But when it comes to MLB experience, there’s a much larger gap between the two.
When Suárez took the mound for the Orioles on Friday night at Camden Yards, the 34-year-old right-hander made his 57th big league appearance, and only his 22nd start. Meanwhile, the 39-year-old Scherzer toed the rubber for the Rangers for his 459th career outing, and his 450th start.
The pitching matchup didn’t go as some may have expected it would.
Suárez cruised through six scoreless innings, outdueling Scherzer and leading Baltimore to a 2-1 victory. It was the longest of Suárez’s 17 outings (which include 10 starts) in his surprise season, during which he has a 2.43 ERA over 59 1/3 innings.
Not only that, but Suárez hadn’t pitched six or more innings in an MLB game since July 3, 2016, his rookie year with the Giants. (The righty spent 2019-23 in Japan and Korea.)
The Rangers managed only three singles off Suárez, who retired 18 of the 21 batters he faced, including 11 of the final 12. He recorded a pair of strikeouts during the 87-pitch outing.
Both of the Orioles’ runs came against Scherzer, who went 5 1/3 innings in his second start back from back/nerve injuries. Colton Cowser slugged a solo home run in the fourth, then Gunnar Henderson added an RBI single in the fifth.
Cowser’s homer was Baltimore’s 58th in June, tied for the most in a single month in franchise history (also done in May 1987).
