TORONTO -- In his first start with the Toronto Blue Jays, veteran pitcher Max Scherzer left after just three innings with right lat soreness, the team announced, and the future with his new club is immediately murky.

Scherzer threw 45 pitches and appeared settled down after allowing two home runs to the Baltimore Orioles in the first inning. He left a 2-2 game that Toronto immediately made 4-2 in the bottom of the third.

But once Baltimore got to Toronto's relievers, the tables turned. The Orioles scored six runs in the two innings after Scherzer left, and cruised to a 9-5 victory.

The two-time World Series champion struck out one Oriole and allowed three hits before departing. When he returned to the dugout after his third inning of work, he appeared visibly upset as he spoke to members of the Blue Jays coaching staff.

In speaking after the loss, Toronto manager John Schneider told reporters that Scherzer first felt something in his warmup routine for the debut. He tried to pitch through it, but couldn't get past 45 pitches. "Frustrated," Schneider added, "is a good way to put it."

Earlier this month, Scherzer had a spring training start pushed back because of thumb pain, and the news appeared to get worse in the first inning Saturday, before he settled in.

Baltimore's Colton Cowser put Scherzer in an early hole with a 417-foot drive to center on the second pitch of the game. Then, Jordan Westburg's two-out drive off Scherzer traveled 434 feet for the longest home run of his career.

After the loss, Scherzer spoke with reporters, telling them that the new injury is related to his thumb. He added he might be putting himself in "imminent danger" if he returned to pitch the fourth inning.

"The thumb is absolutely critical to your arm health," he said. "I've got to get this 100% before I pitch again."

A future Hall of Famer, Scherzer, 40, agreed to a one-year, $15.5 million contract with Toronto in January. The three-time Cy Young Award winner was 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA last season with the Texas Rangers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.