Scherzer loses no-no & game
USA TODAY Sports
When Max Scherzer’s bid for the third no-hitter of his big-league career ended with an infield single in the eighth inning, he picked up the ball and flung it toward his dugout.
Not as a souvenir. Seven innings of dominance followed by an eighth-inning disaster left Scherzer in no mood for keepsakes.
Backup catcher A.J. Ellis beat out a chopper for the first hit off Scherzer, who then gave up two unearned runs as the Miami Marlins rallied to beat the Washington Nationals, 2-1, Wednesday. After Ellis reached, Scherzer tried to gather himself as pitching coach Mike Maddux visited the mound.
“Those type of plays happen,” Scherzer said. “Obviously you’re frustrated, but you’ve got to move on. I hit the reset button. We went through how we wanted to finish, and I just wasn’t able to do it.”
An error by backup first baseman Adam Lind, who bobbled a low throw, and a hit batter loaded the bases with two outs. Scherzer threw a wild pitch that scored the tying run, and Giancarlo Stanton lined an RBI single — the Marlins’ only other hit — to put them ahead.
Scherzer (8-5) threw no-hitters against the Pirates and Mets in 2015, and a third seemed in his grasp when he began the eighth with a 1-0 lead.
He retired 18 in a row before Ellis topped a high-hopper that bounced in front of the plate and glanced off the tip of Scherzer’s glove as he reached overhead for it. The ball rolled to shortstop Trea Turner, who failed in his attempt to make a barehanded pickup and rush a throw.
VICK’S FATHER CHARGED
Michael Vick’s father was charged, along with 11 other people, in a largescale heroin distribution scheme, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Michael Dwayne Boddie of Hampton, Va. — whose son retired this year after playing 13 seasons in the NFL — was charged with dealing heroin and money laundering.
And while seven of the 12 made initial appearances Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, according to The Virginian-Pilot, Boddie remains at large.
It’s unclear if the 55-year-old has a relationship with the former quarterback, who was once estranged from his father and convicted of operating a dogfighting ring 10 years ago, which almost ruined his football career.
The No. 1 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft was playing for the Falcons when he plead guilty to the federal charges. Vick was sentenced to 21 months in prison, but he returned to the league in 2009. Atlanta released Vick that year, but he went on to play for the Eagles, Jets and Steelers.
Boddie's other son, Marcus Vick, was arrested in Newport News, Va. on an ecstasy possession charge last year, which is reportedly still pending.
— Amara Grautski