Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer Makes Two Costly Mistakes In Defeat

The Washington Nationals came up on the short end of a pitcher’s duel, as the New York Mets won by a score of 2-0.

The Mets broke through in the first inning, as outfielder Curtis Granderson hit a home run to right field on the first pitch from Max Scherzer. This was the third time in 2016 that Granderson has hit a home run to lead off a game.

In the third inning, the Mets extended their lead 2-0, thanks to a solo home run by Michael Conforto. This was sixth home run of the season for Conforto.

Scherzer was taken out of the game with one out in the seventh inning. He surrendered just three hits, walked three batters, struck out 10 and allowed a pair of homers.

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The Nationals generated some scoring opportunities against Mets’ starter Noah Syndergaard, but couldn’t break through against the hard-throwing righty.

The best chances came in the second and sixth inning. The Nats had runners on the corners with one out in the second frame, but Wilson Ramos grounded into a double play to end the inning.

During the sixth inning, Ben Revere singled with one out, but was thrown out trying to steal second on a very close play.

Nats skipper Dusty Baker did challenge the call, but there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the call on the field.

Syndergaard tossed seven scoreless innings, fanned 10 batters and scattered five hits.

The Nats went down quietly in the final two innings, as Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia retired the final six batters of the game to preserve the shutout victory.

Scherzer made two costly mistakes early in the game, and this has been a theme for him so far in the season: he starts a game off rocky and then finally settles into a groove.

The good news for the Nationals is that they won’t have to face Syndergaard again in this series, as he was downright filthy during tonight’s game.

Next: The Washington Nationals (23-16) will send Gio Gonzalez (2-1, 1.93 ERA) in the second game of this series, and the New York Mets (22-16) will counter with Bartolo Colon (3-2, 3.53 ERA).