METS’ SCHERZER TESTING RULES’ LIMITS

The Mets’ Max Scherzer has theorized that baseball’s new pitch clock will allow pitchers to dictate the pace of games.

In the eyes of one umpire, he raced too fast even for the pitch timer Friday.

Scherzer tested the boundaries of baseball’s novel pace-of-play rules during his second spring training start, trying several unusual tactics to get Nationals hitters off their game.

At one point, he started throwing a pitch to Victor Robles the moment plate umpire Jeremy Riggs reset the clock, and Riggs called him for a balk.

“He calls time, I come set, I get the green light,” Scherzer said. “I thought that was a clean pitch. He said no. We have to figure out where the limit is.”

Some are adjusting and taking advantage of the rules faster than others. New York Yankees reliever Wandy Peralta rushed through an at-bat so effectively Thursday that he completed a three-pitch strikeout in only 20 seconds.

Scherzer experimented with a few strategies Friday.

With two on and two strikes against the Nat’s Riley Adams in the third inning, Scherzer froze in the set position and let the pitch clock tick down to seven before Adams called timeout.

On the next pitch, Scherzer became set as the 20-second clock started. Adams finally stepped into the box with the clock at 11 seconds, and Scherzer immediately delivered, getting a swinging strike on a 96 mph fastball.

“You can tell they were expecting me to work quick today, and you can make that work to your advantage by speeding up and slowing down the game,” Scherzer said.

Not all the experiments worked. Not only was Scherzer called for a balk, but he also had a double play overturned when umpires ruled he had narrowly let the pitch clock run out before starting his delivery.

“Max and a lot of veteran pitchers and pitchers in general are going to use this time to test some things and make some adjustments,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said.

Guerrero out with knee pain

Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left Friday’s spring training game against Tampa Bay because of right knee discomfort.

Guerrero walked toward the clubhouse with a trainer in the second inning and was replaced by Rainer Nuñez to start the third.

“Just checking it out, seeing how he is,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “We’ll see how he feels (today). Really just playing it safe at this point and this part of camp.”

Guerrero had an RBI single during the first inning in his lone at-bat. He went awkwardly into second base later in the inning.

The slugger hit .274 with 32 homers and 97 RBIs in 160 games last year.

Guerrero is on the Dominican Republic roster for this month’s World Baseball Classic and is scheduled to leave after Sunday’s game .

Cole in command

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole gave up one hit over three scoreless innings against the Tigers in his first spring training start.

Cole struck out four and allowed just two baserunners. The right-hander’s fastball reached 99 mph during his 51pitch outing.

This was the first time Cole took the mound with the pitch clock that is being used in games this season.

“I’m excited,” Cole said. “It’s going to be great. Get home quicker. It’s going to be awesome.”

Windy windup

Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman was blown off balance on the mound by gusty winds in his first spring training start against Tampa Bay.

“I worked hard in the offseason to put on some weight, but that wind just knocked me right off,” Gausman said, smiling. “I got lucky that the (pitch) clock manager actually kind of noticed it and restarted it because it was at six seconds.”

Gausman added that situations like that may need to be addressed by MLB.

“Those are little things that are going to come up as spring training goes on,” he said, “and the more us players that we can bring these things up to them the better off we can make the new changes as a whole.”

Notable

Phillies 19-year-old pitching prospect Andrew Painter is getting tests on his right elbow after reporting some tenderness during his spring training debut Wednesday.

• Red Sox left-hander James Paxton left his spring training debut with a right hamstring injury.