Mets' Scherzer will miss start against Reds due to neck spasms

New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer was scratched from his scheduled start against the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night due to neck spasms.

Left-hander David Peterson was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to start the opener of a three-game series.

The start would have been Scherzer’s second since a 10-game suspension by Major League Baseball for violating the prohibition on foreign substances during an April 19 game at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed six runs and eight hits over 3 1/3 innings at Detroit in his return on May 3, leaving the 38-year-old right-hander 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA in five starts this season.

Scherzer was limited to two starts for the Washington Nationals between June 30 and Aug. 22, 2019, because of a mid-back strain and a rhomboid strain.

Scherzer started feeling a problem after throwing a light bullpen on Sunday.

"It started feeling barks, so I got some treatment during the game," he said Tuesday. "When I woke up Monday, it was seriously locked up. Once it’s locked up, it takes a few days to unlock."

He added that he expects to make a start during New York’s six-game trip that concludes with a three-game weekend series at Washington.

"I’m pretty confident," he said. "What day it is, I don’t know."

New York also placed relief right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis on the 15-day injured list with a left quadriceps strain, a move retroactive to Monday.

Reporting by The Associated Press.