Another no-hitter for Nats’ Scherzer

Max Scherzer pitched his second no-hitter this season for Washington, striking out a team-record 17 and leading the Nationals over the NL East champion New York Mets 2-0 Saturday night for a doubleheader sweep. Only one batter reached base against Scherzer, and that came when third baseman Yunel Escobar bounced a throw for an error on Kevin Plawecki’s leadoff grounder in the sixth.

The All-Star righty became just the sixth pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a year, and the first since RoyHalladay in 2010. Reds rookie Brandon Finnegan outpitched

A.J. Burnett, who was making the final regularseason start of his career, and the visiting Reds snapped their 13-game losing streak with a 3-1 win.

A Pirates loss coupled with a Cubs win will mean that Wednesday’s elimination game against the Cubs will be played at Wrigley Field. The Pirates announced that Gerrit Cole (19-8, 2.60 ERA) will start that game. Cole went 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in four starts against the Cubs.

The Los Angeles Angels rallied for five runs in the ninth inning to earn an 11-10 win over host Texas that again kept the Rangers from clinching the AL West title. The Rangers have a one-game lead over the Astros, who clinched at least a tie for the second wild-card spot with a 6-2 win at Arizona. The Angels are one game behind the Astros. Minnesota was eliminated from the AL wild-card race after a 5-1 loss to the visiting Royals. The New York Mets say former star Rusty Staub, 71, is recovering in a hospital in Ireland after a heart attack on an overseas flight.