PHILADELPHIA — If Max Scherzer’s first start as a Met brought closure, his second could reopen an old wound.

After Scherzer made his team debut against the club he helped lead to the 2019 World Series championship, bringing him face-to-face with former teammates and fans at Nationals Park, his follow-up will put him against Joe Girardi on Wednesday after the two had a confrontation last season.

The baseball gods should have better things to do than maximize the drama surrounding Scherzer, but apparently not.

Last June 22, shortly after the league empowered umpires to check pitchers for foreign substances that would allow a better grip on the ball, Scherzer was checked three times in the first four innings during a game in Philadelphia. Upon the third, Scherzer was clearly frustrated, especially because Girardi had requested the inspection because, the Phillies manager said, he saw Scherzer run his hand through his hair.

Girardi told reporters afterward that it was a suspicious act that he had not witnessed in the past. If the former Yankees manager was trying to bother Scherzer, it worked.

As the then-Nationals star walked off the mound following the fifth inning, he stared down Girardi and taunted him with his hat and glove. Girardi began yelling back and walked toward Scherzer and was ejected.

Scherzer saw Girardi again last season at Citizens Bank Park in an incident-free Aug. 10 start. But if Scherzer’s Mets debut was any indication, perhaps drama follows him.

On Friday, Scherzer statistically was OK in Washington — six innings, three runs allowed — but he pitched through several stoppages in play, including a dugouts- and bullpens-clearing fight after Francisco Lindor became the second Mets batter struck around the head by a pitch in two days.

After the fireworks, Scherzer restored order with a couple clean, quick innings. Buck Showalter wasn’t surprised.

“You don’t do the things he’s done without having that ability to answer a moment, so to speak,” the Mets manager said after the win.

Scherzer, with a World Series and three Cy Youngs under his belt, typically has been able to rise to the occasion. That includes several NL East showdowns against the Phillies, against whom the righty is 14-4 with a 2.50 ERA in his career.

He’ll have to be on guard for his old Nationals pal, though. Bryce Harper is 3-for-12 with a home run against Scherzer.