Toronto Blue Jays veteran pitcher Max Scherzer lasted only four innings during Sunday's win over the Milwaukee Brewers as he was dealing with some upper-back tightness. 

“Schneids made the right move to pull me in that situation," Scherzer told reporters. "It was just something I had to deal with. I wasn’t the guy today, but the rest of the team picked me up. That’s the great news here.”

The 41-year-old righty allowed four earned runs on nine hits, recording just one strikeout over four innings of work.

The game was tied 4-4 when Scherzer departed as the Blue Jays' bullpen produced five scoreless innings to pick up the 8-4 victory and avoid the sweep. 

Entering Sunday's game, Scherzer had made six strong starts in a row, pitching at least six innings on each occasion with only 12 total runs allowed. 

Scherzer is 5-2 on the season with a 4.11 earned-run average, 1.13 WHIP and 62 strikeouts over 14 starts. He signed a one-year deal with the Jays this past winter. 

Scherzer missed nearly three months earlier this season after leaving his debut with the Blue Jays in late March due to a thumb issue. 

Toronto sits atop the AL East with a 79-58 record, three games ahead of the New York Yankees and 3.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox. 

The Blue Jays hit the road for a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds starting on Monday before heading to New York for a weekend set against the Yankees.