Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 6-1 Win Over Mets

 Scherzer Goes To San Diego On High Note

In his final start before his trip to the All-Star Game in San Diego, Max Scherzer picked up right where Stephen Strasburg left off. The Washington Nationals right-hander went seven innings, gave up one run (not earned) on three hits, struck out nine, and walked two on 117 pitches (73 strikes) in the win.

The night didn’t start off well for Scherzer. He walked Jose Reyes on four pitches and Curtis Granderson singled to left center, but both runners advanced a base because of a throwing error by Jayson Werth.

It looked like the Mets were set up for a big inning, but Scherzer was able to avoid another bad first inning by allowing only a Neil Walker sacrifice fly. Even though he hit James Loney, he struck out Asdrubal Cabrera and Brandon Nimmo to end the inning.

The best part about last night’s game for Scherzer was the seventh inning. Even though he was at 112 pitches after a two out walk to Alejandro De Aza, he was able to convince Dusty Baker to keep him in the game to finish the inning. He ended up getting Wilmer Flores to fly out to left for the final out. Here is some of Baker’s conversation with Scherzer:

Scherzer continues to be excellent against the New York Mets in 2016. In three starts, he is 2-1 with a 0.87 ERA, and has 29 strikeouts in 20.2 innings. After a bad start to the series Thursday, Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg were able to throw dominant outings when the team needed them the most, which is what aces do.

Next: Werth's Patience Paying Off