Washington Nationals Rapid Reaction: One Max Scherzer Wild Pitch Makes A Difference
By Ricky Keeler
Jul 19, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Andre Ethier (16) slides into home and scores on Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) wild pitch in the fourth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Scherzer Pitched Well, But Got No Help
This battle of the aces had the same result as Scherzer had when he went up against Johnny Cueto on July 7, but he put up a much better performance against the Dodgers. He went six innings, gave up one run on seven hits, struck out eight, and walked one on 98 pitches (70 strikes).
Right out of the gate, the Dodgers had a chance to score in the opening inning when they loaded the bases with two outs. However, Scherzer was able to get out of it by getting Yasiel Puig to miss a 95 mile per hour fastball to end the inning. Normally, against Scherzer, when you miss that chance to score in the early innings, that means another dominant start for the Nats ace.
But, yesterday was a different story. The Dodgers found a way to get that key run against Scherzer in the fourth inning that would make the difference. After a leadoff double by Andre Ethier, the Dodgers played small ball by having Yasmani Grandal bunt Ethier over to third.
Two batters later, Scherzer made that one mistake when he threw his fourth wild pitch of the season against Alberto Callaspo. Wilson Ramos had a chance to make the play at the plate, but his throw went wild and the Dodgers on the board.
For the second time in three starts, the Nationals did not score a run for their ace. In fact, they have a scored a total of four runs in Scherzer’s last four starts (1-3 in those outings). When Scherzer gets 0-2 runs of support in an outing this season, he is 1-7 with an ERA of 2.60. To be fair, the Nats went up against a really good pitcher in Greinke, but they have to find a way to help their ace out and get him that big inning to put the game way.
Next: Treinen Struggles In 9th Inning