He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and Texas Rangers.

One of Scherzer's coaches at Missouri, Tony Vitello, had helped to recruit him, and eventually persuaded him to pitch with more balance and control and to stop leaping at hitters, which frequently caused him to miss up and into right-handed batters.

Scherzer modified his delivery and worked constantly over the following winter, leading to a 1.86 earned run average (ERA) and 131 strikeouts in 106 innings pitched over 16 games during his sophomore season.

[25] In Detroit, Scherzer grew from a hard thrower with control issues into an ace, teaming with fellow right-hander and future Cy Young Award-winner Justin Verlander to front the Tigers' starting rotation for five seasons.

[64] Scherzer had a dominant performance in Game 1 of the 2013 ALDS versus the Oakland Athletics, recording 11 strikeouts and giving up just one hit through the first six innings, before surrendering a two-run homer to Yoenis Céspedes.

However a quartet of Tiger relievers blew the lead in the eighth inning on a grand slam by David Ortiz, and Boston won it, 6–5, on a walk-off single in the ninth.

Scherzer's 16 strikeouts established a new personal best and a Nationals team record for one game, surpassing Stephen Strasburg's effort of 14 versus the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 8, 2010.

[94] Over a win-less streak of seven starts beginning July 30, Scherzer allowed a 6.08 ERA, seven walks, 11 home runs, a .305/.335/.587 line against and struck out 53 in 40 innings pitched.

In a season that also featured mammoth offensive accomplishments from NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Bryce Harper, the Nationals were eliminated from the playoff contention with a week remaining.

On May 11, 2016, Scherzer struck out 20 Detroit Tiger batters, his former team, to tie the record for strikeouts over nine innings in a single game, held by Roger Clemens (twice), Randy Johnson, and Kerry Wood.

[106] On July 8, 2016, Scherzer was named to the National League squad at the All-Star Game in San Diego as a roster replacement for teammate Stephen Strasburg, who was recently activated from the DL.

[115] On June 11, Scherzer became the third-fastest pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts (after Nolan Ryan and Clayton Kershaw) by striking out Nomar Mazara of the Texas Rangers.

[118] Named to his fifth MLB All-Star Game, Scherzer was NL manager Joe Maddon's selection as the squad's starting pitcher, making him the oldest starter in that lineup.

[120] On August 1, Scherzer hit his first career home run, a three-run blast off Chris O'Grady of the Marlins, but left the game shortly thereafter with neck spasms.

[132] While playing Atlanta on April 9, he stole his first career base in the seventh inning, versus pitcher Peter Moylan and catcher Kurt Suzuki.

[133] He earned the NL Pitcher of the Month Award in April while leading the league in strikeouts (57) and wins (4), and ranking fourth in each of ERA (1.62), WHIP (0.82) and opposing batting average (.165).

[136] He made his following start versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he struck out 11 batters and hit an RBI double for the go-ahead run in the fourth inning that furnished a 3–1 Nationals victory.

[140][141] Entering as a pinch hitter in the 14th inning on June 2 versus the Braves, Scherzer singled for his first career pinch-hit and scored the go-ahead run on a triple by Wilmer Difo in a 5–3 victory.

[144] He joined Lefty Grove, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, and Sandy Koufax as the only (at the time) MLB pitchers to have recorded multiple immaculate innings in a career.

[148] On August 12, Scherzer pitched 7 strong shutout innings, striking out 11 while giving up just three hits and one walk during a primetime night game at Wrigley Field.

Up 3–0 in the bottom of the ninth, Nationals pitcher Ryan Madson hit two batters and gave up an infield single before issuing a "golden homer"[149] – a 2 out, 2 strike, walk-off grand slam to Cubs rookie David Bote.

[150] On September 25, Scherzer reached 300 strikeouts on the season, striking out Austin Dean of the Miami Marlins in a 10-pitch at-bat in the seventh inning of a 9–4 Nationals win.

[154] On April 26, Scherzer became the 35th pitcher in Major League history to record 2,500 career strikeouts, getting Manuel Margot of the San Diego Padres looking on three pitches in the seventh inning.

The performances mirrored a feat Sánchez and Scherzer had achieved as teammates while playing in Detroit in Games 1 and 2 of the 2013 ALCS versus the Boston Red Sox.

It was the 100th double-digit strikeout game of his career, making him just the fifth pitcher to reach the milestone, following Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and Pedro Martínez.

[172] On September 16, after he had been traded, Scherzer was named by his former club as their nominee for the season's Roberto Clemente Award, recognizing character, community involvement, and philanthropy for his family's contributions to the Washington, DC, area.

[174] Scherzer made his Dodgers debut on August 4 in Los Angeles against the Houston Astros, pitching seven innings and giving up two runs and striking out 10 batters, and earned the win.

[175] On September 12 at Dodger Stadium, Scherzer struck out Eric Hosmer in the fifth inning in a contest versus the San Diego Padres to become the 19th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts.

[216] In the spring of 2017, the Nationals unveiled a "delightfully creepy" crop of Scherzer's eyes, correctly portrayed as blue and brown, with backward and forward Ks edited into the pupils.

[228][229] Both Max and Erica are involved with the Humane Rescue Alliance, announcing after Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 that they would pay all pet adoption fees from the Washington, D.C.-based group's shelters for four days.