Scherzer 'starting to turn a corner' as he conquers Coors Field

DENVER -- There aren’t many mountains left for Max Scherzer to conquer, but he conquered one in the Rocky Mountains on Friday night.

Scherzer turned in his best start of the season in a venue that hasn’t been kind to him during his career, going seven strong innings to pick up his first win at Coors Field in the Mets’ 5-2 victory over the Rockies.

The veteran right-hander, who had been 0-3 with a 6.39 ERA over six previous starts in the Mile High City, gave up one run on six hits, walking none and striking out a season-high eight on 102 pitches as Scherzer completed seven innings for the first time this season.

Over three starts since being sidelined with neck spasms, Scherzer has yielded only two runs over 18 innings (1.00 ERA) with three walks and 19 strikeouts.

“I’m finally starting to turn a corner, finally healthy and was able to work with [catcher Francisco Alvarez] today,” Scherzer said. “He made some good calls today, some good sequences of what we were wanting to do. …

“And for our offense to give some run support, that’s huge because it allows me to be aggressive. … I don’t have to pitch on pins and needles.”

The run support was immediate thanks to Francisco Lindor, who belted a two-run homer in the first inning after Colorado starter Connor Seabold walked Brandon Nimmo to open the contest.

Lindor later drove in Nimmo again, delivering an RBI single to right-center field in the fifth inning after Nimmo logged the first of his two triples to tie Lance Johnson for seventh in franchise history (27).

Brett Baty drove in New York’s fourth run with a two-out single to left field in the seventh, and after Nimmo tripled again in the ninth, Lindor brought him in with a sacrifice fly for his fourth RBI of the game to cap the scoring.

Scherzer’s only blemish was a solo homer by Ryan McMahon in the second inning. He credited sequencing of his pitches and his prior experience at Coors Field for Friday’s success, which included a season-high 20 swings and misses.

“Over my career, I’ve gotten a little experience of pitching here and understanding kind of what you need to do to be able to attack and execute here,” Scherzer said. “ … I knew what I needed to do. I knew how I needed to attack this lineup and how I needed to execute.”

With that execution, Scherzer finally checked Coors Field off the list of ballparks in which he hadn’t been credited with a win. While he knew he hadn’t pitched well here in the past, he didn’t seem to be aware that he was winless until this night.

“Oh, my first win? Yay,” he said with a laugh. “That’s a cool one. To be able to come in here and get a win, that’s a good feeling.”

Scherzer got that win despite having the blister on his right thumb that had bothered him toward the end of his previous start become inflamed again late in Friday’s outing. He said it began to form a blood blister beneath the skin.

But Scherzer added that it was “nowhere near the type of pain” he experienced with it in the previous start. He said he’s hopeful that a callus will begin to form over it so that he can put the issue behind him -- much like he put Coors Field behind him.

There remains just one current ballpark in which Scherzer has pitched where he hasn’t logged a win. When asked whether he knew which one, he asked for a hint. Once he was told it was in the National League Central, he got it right away.

“Pittsburgh?” he asked. “Wow.”

The Mets visit PNC Park for a set with the Pirates on June 9-11, so Scherzer might get his chance to check that final box.

With more than 3,200 strikeouts, three Cy Young Awards, a World Series ring and a host of other accolades over an illustrious career, there aren’t many mountains left for Scherzer to successfully climb.

But that doesn’t diminish Scherzer’s drive to conquer them, as his manager noted after his latest conquest.

“Everyone was kind of looking at what his history is here,” Buck Showalter said. “That’s right up Max’s alley. Anytime you tell him there’s something he won’t be able to do well, he’s gonna figure out a way to prove you wrong.”