Max Scherzer did not deserve his postgame punishment of standing at his locker and answering for defeat. Given how he pitched against the Rockies, he should have been raising a champagne glass to his 200th career victory, and to the fact that only two men have ever posted more double-figure strikeout games than his 110. 

But crazy things can happen on any given Sunday in this sport, too. This time a home team 36 games over .500 lost to a visiting team 20 games under .500 because Scherzer gave up one run over seven innings while his counterpart, German Marquez, gave up none. 

The Rockies scored in the seventh on a whole lot of soft contact — with a bunt single and swinging bunt single down the third-base line inflicting the most pain — before a hard shot to right produced the decisive sacrifice fly. That was the small-picture defeat. 

The big-picture victory was defined by the fact that Scherzer, at age 38, stared down a bases-loaded, no-out situation with a season-high pitch count and surrendered only a run while striking out one batter swinging and another batter looking, before accepting a handshake from Buck Showalter and a receiving line of high fives from one end of the dugout to the other. 

“I was able to get to 112 pitches, and my arm feels good. So physically, I feel good,” Scherzer said after striking out 11 while allowing four hits and one walk. “That allows you to continue to build your stamina and be resilient through the rest of the season. … Physically, that sets you up for more things in the future.” 

Especially in October, where the Mets might meet the Dodgers, the franchise owner Steve Cohen wants to emulate and the juggernaut that happens to be arriving at Citi Field on Tuesday night. 

Though it’s never fun for a first-place team to lose to a last-place team, some perspective was in order after the Mets took three of four from the Rockies. Showalter had good reason to express concern before Sunday’s game about an emotional letdown after Saturday’s Citi Field bonanza that was Old Timers’ Day and the surprise retirement of Willie Mays’ number — yet another example of the Cohen Era posterizing the Wilpon Era — not to mention the team’s 82nd victory, followed by an Atlanta loss in St. Louis. 

An Old Timers’ Day hangover might not be as debilitating as the more popular Super Bowl hangover, but apparently it’s a real thing. The Mets looked like a bunch of 65-year-olds out there, barely showing a pulse. They managed just three singles and needed a balk and a wild pitch to reach second base. Showalter said afterward that the non-performance had everything to do with Marquez and nothing to do with a letdown, yet made this concession: 

“That’s what people from a football and basketball background have no idea [about] — what these guys go through every day. It’s an everyday sport, and you are going to have ups and downs mentally and emotionally. You’re not robotic.” 

And that’s where Scherzer comes in. He had a flat slider and mediocre cutter against Colorado, and couldn’t find his rhythm until the fourth inning, and yet his changeup, curveball and concentration allowed him to give his drained team a great chance to win. Scherzer effectively simulated a late October game in late August, blowing past the 100-pitch mark while showing intense attention to every available detail. 

Asked how maddening it was to keep Colorado scoreless for six innings before those damn infield hits got him, Scherzer said the following: 

“That’s just baseball. You pitch in this game long enough that’s going to happen. That’s why you gotta constantly be on top of absolutely everything you do, because there are so many little ways that you can get beat that are out of your control. So that’s why I’m constantly locked in and never take my foot off the gas pedal, because little things like that can absolutely beat you. If I give up an extra-base hit or home run in that situation it completely loses the ballgame. Fortunately enough, I was able to contain the damage in that situation, just the one run.” 

And that’s why Max Scherzer is a slam-dunk Hall of Famer who is tied with Roger Clemens for the third-most double-figure strikeout games ever, and who has more career strikeouts (3,168) than any active pitcher in the game, one ahead of Justin Verlander. 

Showalter calls Scherzer “a baseball player who happens to be a pitcher,” and forever talks about the intangible impact his 24/7 leadership has on the club. Part of that leadership is tied to his durability, and to the fact that he blamed himself for the earlier oblique injury that he called “unacceptable.” And part of that leadership is tied to his fearless approach to high-stakes competition. 

The mighty Dodgers are coming to town? “You play this game,” Scherzer said, “to face the best.” 

For three days Mad Max will be studying the Dodgers from the dugout. It will be an upset if he doesn’t find something that might help the Mets in the NLCS.