Blue Jays' Max Scherzer reveals truth behind teammate Eric Lauer's fat lip

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Over the past month, the red-hot Blue Jays have been slugging the ball at the plate.

But, no, there wasn’t any actual slugging done in the locker room between a pair of pitchers last week, despite what Eric Lauer led many to believe.

Lauer, who started Thursday’s game in Detroit, sported a noticeably bruised, fat lip during his outing.

On Friday, he then shared what — or rather whom — allegedly caused it.

“There’s this know thing to not mess with (Max) Scherzer on his start days, especially when he has his headphones in, and I broke that rule,” Lauer said. “I tried to talk to him a little too early, and six stitches is what you get for that.”

Lauer appeared to be fairly serious while speaking to reporters, leading some to believe that he actually was decked by his often-intense teammate.

It even led some fans to question if all was, in fact, right in the locker room of the scorching-hot AL East leaders.

However, the alleged assailant later spilled the beans, with Scherzer revealing the claim was just Lauer and fellow starter Chris Bassitt having some fun.

“No, I did not punch Eric Lauer in the face,” Scherzer said with a laugh when asked about the incident by Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae.

“I guess Eric had something wrong with his lip and he had to the doctor, or something like that, so I guess (Bassitt) and him were sitting and talking.

“Bass is saying, ‘Dude, you can’t go to the media and say you have something wrong with your lip, we gotta come up with a better story’… So they say, ‘Alright, let’s blame Max.’ It’s a believable story.”

Scherzer — who also confirmed that he does have a rule for teammates not to mess with him when he has his headphones in – said that Lauer clued him in on the prank before going to the media.

“Mad Max,” who started Sunday’s game in Detroit, said he thought it was a great idea – but doubted if Lauer could believably pull it off in front of the cameras.

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“To his credit, he kept a straight face, he even deked you out,” Scherzer told Mae. “It’s all fun and games … They found a way to bring this out, have fun with it. I think it’s hysterical. My wife thought it was hysterical.

The Jays currently are in Baltimore for a four-game series, including a doubleheader on Tuesday with Lauer starting the evening contest.