Scherzer dominated the Rays in Friday's Grapefruit League game, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk over six innings while striking out 11.
Facing a Tampa Bay lineup made up of most of the team's likely Opening Day starters, including Randy Arozarena, Wander Franco and Yandy Diaz, Scherzer cranked up his intensity and fired 73 strikes over 100 pitches in his final spring start. The veteran right-hander posted a 2.29 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 30.6 percent strikeout rate in 2022 during his first season with the Mets, but the 38-year-old managed only 145.1 innings due to oblique issues -- his lowest total over a full MLB season since he became a regular starter in 2009.