The Nationals’ Scherzer tops himself,
Nationals ace proving not to be complacent
As Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer prepared for a June 26 start at the Philadelphia Phillies, all anyone could talk about was whether he could get back-to-back no-hitters.
He came up short, but the anticipation spoke to how dominant Scherzer was in June — and has been all season.
“He’s working with a purpose,” Nationals outfielder Denard Span said. “That’s why he’s so confident. That’s why when he strikes out guys, he has his little, I call it old Western walk with his elbows up in the air. He just has that bulldog mentality. It’s hilarious when he gets in the zone and starts circling the mound.”
Scherzer, who no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 20, had gone 3-1 with a 1.05 ERA in his four starts entering the week. Opposing batters hit .099 against him during that span, and he allowed six hits and two runs in the three wins and had a stretch of 16 innings in which he did not allow a hit.
He flirted with a perfect game against the Pirates before hitting pinch-hitter Jose Tabata with two outs in the ninth inning.
Scherzer then retired the first 16 Phillies batters before Freddy Galvis doubled in a 5-2 win.
That effort helped the 30-yearold land a spot Monday on the National League All-Star team. That announcement followed back-to-back honors as NL player of the month.
“It’s awesome,” said Scherzer, a leading candidate for the NL Cy Young Award. “Anytime the starters are going out there and doing their job, it does so much for the ballclub, does so much for the ’pen. It allows the offense to relax and continue to score runs. It keeps the pressure on their guys and the back end of their bullpen.”
In many ways, the biggest surprise of the year hasn’t been Scherzer’s performance but that he ended up in Washington.
He went 82-35 with a 3.52 ERA in five seasons with the Detroit Tigers and had surpassed Justin Verlander as the team’s ace. After Scherzer won the American League Cy Young Award in 2013, going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA, the Tigers offered him a seven-year deal worth about $160 million.
The veteran right-hander rejected that, and when he went 18-5 with a 3.15 ERA last season, the only question seemed to be which big-market, big-payroll team he would join.
The Nationals, though, weren’t expected to be his destination.
Their rotation already had Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmermann and a major league-best 3.04 ERA and a 70-49 record that could have been better with more run support.
And yet, there was Scherzer on Jan. 21, donning a Nationals jersey after signing a seven-year, $210 million deal.
“This organization is capable of winning,” Scherzer said at the time. “You can offer as much money as you want, but if you’re going to lose it’s not worth it. When you talk about the next three to five years, this is the team you want to go to.”
Said Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth: “A commitment of that stature signals the organization is committed to winning long term and makes me proud to be a Nat. I look forward to playing defense behind Max and the rest of our pitchers and seeing (through) the vision that brought me to D.C.”
Scherzer could end up having one of baseball’s best pitching seasons after signing as a free agent. Roger Clemens holds that distinction, joining the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 and going 21-7 with a 2.05 ERA en route to being named the AL Cy Young Award winner.
But Clemens wasn’t able to lift his team to the playoffs, and Scherzer appears to be doing that.
“He very well could have had two (consecutive) no-hitters,” Span said. “He’s nasty. He’s perfected his craft. He knows what he wants to do. He’s our horse. I’ve never seen any other pitcher work like he does.”
The Nationals have struggled at times this season at the plate but after 81 games had produced 355 runs, seventh best in baseball. The biggest concern has been the rotation, including Strasburg (5-5, 5.16) who went on the disabled list Sunday after leaving Saturday’s game with tightness in his side.
But Scherzer’s three-game stretch was the centerpiece of a 47-inning stretch in which the Nationals did not allow a run and took hold of first place in the NL East.
“(The three-game stretch) feels great, but that won’t make the rest of the year any easier,” Scherzer said. “One of the things I love about our game is it’s 162 games long. You can’t think too long about what has already happened because it’s about what comes next. It really is a marathon and it’s a grind, but that is what I love the most.”