Scherzer Shines as Blue Jays Beat Reds 5-1 in Season Finale

Max Scherzer may have written the final line of his career on Sunday at Rogers Centre, and it was a good one. The veteran right-hander allowed one earned run over seven innings, striking out seven, as the Toronto Blue Jays closed 2026 with a 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

On a day with nothing at stake in the standings, Scherzer delivered the kind of outing that made the afternoon worth watching. Toronto's bats did enough against a Cincinnati pitching staff that has struggled all year, and the Reds managed just one run in their final game.

How our premium pick graded

Moneyline: Toronto — WIN. The Blue Jays closed as a short home favorite and never trailed.

Run line: Cincinnati +1.5 — LOSS. Toronto won by four, so the Reds never seriously threatened the cover.

Total: Over 8.5 — LOSS. Six combined runs left the over short by 2.5. The number that refused to move all week stayed right.

Prop card results

Brandon Williamson over 2.50 earned runs (-115) — WIN. Williamson lasted three innings, allowing four earned runs on four hits and three walks. The command issues that made the surface ERA misleading showed up immediately.

Max Scherzer under 5.50 strikeouts (-147) — LOSS. Scherzer punched out seven, his best strikeout total in weeks. The bet needed him to stay under six and he cleared it by one.

Elly De La Cruz over 0.50 hits (-175) — WIN. De La Cruz singled once in four at-bats, extending a strong late-season stretch.

What it means going forward

The Williamson read was the right process: betting against a pitcher whose ERA hid poor underlying contact and strikeout numbers. That profile is worth targeting again. The Scherzer strikeout under was the miss — a starter with a low season-long rate can still spike in a single outing, and short strikeout unders carry that risk. The total staying put at 8.5 despite the matchup was a signal, not noise.