Good afternoon DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! As you get ready for this afternoon’s game against the Phillies, get caught up on all the latest Nats news with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson discusses Max Scherzer and his ever-growing importance to the ball club. As Ladson notes, Scherzer is determined to not only be a good pitcher, but also to be a great all-around player and athlete.
For Scherzer, that means helping the team win in every facet of the game—pitching, hitting, base running and everything else he can do to help the team. Last night was a perfect example of the player Scherzer is.
The right-hander pitched eight dominant innings last night which, on its own, is usually enough to help the ball club win. But with the team’s offense struggling last night, Scherzer took the rest of the game into his own hands as well. He battled in an at-bat late in the sixth inning and hit a single to right field. He later scored all the way from first base on a double by Ian Desmond.
These aren’t things you would expect a normal pitcher to do, but this is exactly what we expect to see from Scherzer ever time he takes the mound. Scherzer has shown time and time again this season and throughout his career that he’s not only a great pitcher, but that he’s also a great baseball player.
More from Max Scherzer
- Washington Nationals: Don’t Hold Your Breathe On A Max Scherzer Reunion
- Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer Scratched From Game 6 Reminiscent Of 2019
- Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer and Trea Turner bring wealth of Postseason experience to Dodgers ahead of Postseason run
- Nationals: Max Scherzer comments have me rethinking my fandom
- Washington Nationals: How Did The Nats Do In The All-Star Game?
Also in today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes discusses last night’s epic Post-Anthem Standoff between Nationals’ reliever Aaron Barrett and Phillies’ starter Aaron Harang. Baseball has a lot of strange traditions, and the standoff is definitely one of the stranger ones.
As Janes notes, last night’s standoff was longer than most and an epic start to a three-game series between the two rivals. If you’ve ever wondered what the Post-Anthem Standoff tradition is all about, be sure to check out Janes’ article below.
Scherzer shows desire to be complete player
WASHINGTON — Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond recently figured out what makes teammate Max Scherzer the competitor that he is.
Desmond realized that Scherzer wants to be more than just a great pitcher. Scherzer wants to be an all-around athlete. He wants to get better at the plate as well as having great instincts while running the bases.
“He wants to score runs and have a two-strike approach. He talked about when he swings and how he swings. That’s good. That’s stuff should take ,” Desmond said. Read full article here.
Aaron Barrett wins epic post-anthem standoff
(Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)
The game hardly mattered by the time it began. A mere baseball game, especially one played in May between the charging Nationals and the sputtering Phillies, could not possibly carry the emotional weight of the test of human spirit, of will and of hope, that preceded it. The Nationals won Friday night’s game, 2-1, and that was good, of course. But first, Aaron Barrett won one of the longest post-anthem standoffs in recent memory — one the baseball world will little note, but one those who witnessed it will long remember.
As with many of baseball’s inexplicable but time-honored traditions, the origins of the post-anthem standoff are obscured by the blur of numbers on jerseys, of bored players, of long pregame ceremonies and long baseball seasons. It sums to this: “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays to a reverent crowd, and both teams line up, hats off, held over their hearts. The song ends, the crowd cheers, and the players disperse. Most of them, anyway. Read full article here.