PHILADELPHIA — Max Scherzer finally could pitch with all his strength now that his right hamstring wasn't bothering him anymore.
It took a bit for him to figure that out, but when he did, he looked back to his Cy Young self.
Scherzer settled in after working out of an early jam, Pete Alonso drove in five runs with a homer and two doubles and the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-6 Wednesday. It took loading the bases in the first for Scherzer (2-0) to recalibrate how to pitch on his right leg again, then he struck out the next batter, induced a groundout and allowed one run and five hits with seven strikeouts in five innings.