The Mets entered this year with the best pitching tandem in baseball. Now they don’t know when either of their aces will take the mound again.

Shortly before Pete Alonso brought joy to Queens with an extra-inning, walk-off home run to beat the Cardinals, the Mets announced yesterday that Max Scherzer will join Jacob deGrom and take a lengthy trip to the injured list after an MRI revealed the 37-year-old suffered a “moderate to high grade internal oblique strain” the previous night. The timeline for recovery is an estimated six to eight weeks. DeGrom, who hasn’t made a start this season due to a right shoulder blade injury, remains without a timeline for his return.

Though the Mets have built a seven-game cushion atop the NL East, the team will have a hard time maintaining their lead without Scherzer, who signed a $130 million deal to come to New York. The Mets also recently lost Tylor Megill, who was put on the injured list Sunday with right biceps inflammation.

Before removing himself from Wednesday’s start, Scherzer had lived up to the expectations placed upon the three-time Cy Young Award winner, going 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA in eight starts. Scherzer has been one of the most reliable starters of his generation, averaging 31.6 starts over the past 12 full seasons (excluding the shortened 2020 season).