Scherzer credits wife Erica for overcoming injury

Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer labored through five innings in Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday after getting scratched from his Sunday start in Game 5 due to neck spasms and a trapezius injury.

Scherzer kept the Nationals in the winner-take-all contest long enough for the club to eventually pull ahead in the seventh inning and win their first Fall Classic in franchise history.

The three-time Cy Young winner said postgame that his spouse played a huge role in him taking the mound for the biggest game of his career.

"I have to give my wife a ton of credit for believing in me," Scherzer said, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports. "Because when I woke up the day of Game 5, she saw me. I was a mess. I couldn't raise my elbow above my head. I felt I was letting the team down. She had to stay in the fight.

"She said, 'Hey, you could treat it. We know Stras (Stephen Strasburg) is going to deal. You’re going to get Game 7. Let’s go.' Even when I was at my worst moment, she had the belief in it. She had this dream as much as anybody."

Erica Scherzer said she had some doubts about his status even after a cortisone shot on Sunday.

"I know it’s hard to see that when he’s out here right now," she said, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. "But at that moment, it looked really, really bad ... He could not move. We've been together 15 years. I’ve never seen him in that much pain."

Mad Max's effort will now be immortalized in World Series lore.

"We fought together, we stayed in the fight," Scherzer said, according to Nightengale. "And we won the damn fight. We did it.

"The old guys. The Viejos. The old guys can do it. We have the experience. We don't fold under pressure. We deserve this."