Scherzer’s command so-so in return as Nationals fall

WASHINGTON – Washington ace Max Scherzer lasted five innings in his return from the injured list, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Nationals 8-7 on Thursday in a battle of worn-out bullpens.

Ian Desmond led off the ninth with a homer off 42-year-old Fernando Rodney (0-4), who pitched in both games of Wednesday’s doubleheader. Rodney then walked Charlie Blackmon, who advanced on a wild pitch and a single by David Dahl, and Daniel Murphy drove in Blackmon with a groundout.

Murphy homered and scored three times for the Rockies, who avoided a four-game sweep and won for just the fourth time in their past 20 games. Jairo Diaz (3-2) worked a scoreless eighth, and Wade Davis earned his 15th save.

Anthony Rendon hit a three-run drive for Washington, which wasted a chance to gain ground on first-place Atlanta in the NL East.

Scherzer had been sidelined by inflammation under his right shoulder. He was 7-0 with a sparkling 0.87 ERA in his previous seven starts, but he struggled with his command at times in his first start since July 6. He allowed three runs and four hits while matching his shortest outing of the season. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out eight, increasing his NL-leading total to 189, and he hasn’t lost since May 17, the last time he gave up three runs.

Light-hitting Garrett Hampson drove a belt-high fastball from Scherzer over the wall in left-center for a two-run homer in the fourth, and Ryan McMahon, subbing for Nolan Arenado at third base, hit a two-run shot off Matt Grace in the sixth.

Matt Adams homered in the seventh to give the Nationals a two-run cushion. Murphy responded with his 10th homer in the eighth, setting up Colorado’s rally off Rodney. Rockies starter Jeff Hoffman walked four, hit a batter and threw 95 pitches in five innings.

Local hero

Two-time Women’s World Cup champion Ali Krieger, a northern Virginia native, threw out a ceremonial first pitch. Krieger, a veteran defender, made three appearances during this year’s World Cup and was a second-half substitute during the Americans’ 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in the final on July 7.

She was accompanied by her fiancee, Ashlyn Harris, a backup goaltender on the U.S. team who is also Krieger’s Orlando Pride teammate.

“The support we’ve had since we’ve come home is incredible,” Krieger said. “You pass people in the streets and they’re just, like,C`ongratulations.’ It’s just nice to know that everyone’s watching women’s football and really enjoying it and really supporting us.”

It was the closest Krieger has been to the White House since the World Cup. Krieger has said she would not go to the White House if invited by President Donald Trump because she disagrees with the administration’s policies and supports teammate Megan Rapinoe, an outspoken critic of Trump.

“We’re not going over there,” Krieger said with a laugh. “We’ll just give them a wave.”