Washington Nationals: Takeaways From 3-2 Win Over Phillies

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Aug 30, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (31) throws a pitch during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Nationals defeated the Phillies, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /

Scherzer Strikes Out 11

It was another dominant outing last night for Max Scherzer in Philadelphia. He went eight innings, gave up two runs on three hits, struck out 11, and walked one on 102 pitches (69 strikes). He picked up his 15^th win, which ties Stephen Strasburg for the team lead this season.

Once again, Scherzer showed last night that history has a chance to happen anytime he takes the mound. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, which was broken up by a Freddy Galvis double. Galvis also broke up Scherzer’s no-hit bid in June 2015 when he was going for back-to-back no-hitters. Dan Kolko of MASN tweeted last night a great stat about Scherzer’s no-hit bids:

Might as well update it: Scherzer has now made 61 starts as a National. In 9 of them, he's taken a no-no into the 6th. That's 15 percent.
— Dan Kolko (@masnKolko) August 31, 2016

Although Scherzer had five of his 11 strikeouts end with a fastball, he had at least one strikeout that ended with either one of his five pitches. The Washington Nationals ace has double-digit strikeouts in four of his last six games and his 51 strikeouts are the most for any pitcher this month.

Scherzer’s 51 strikeouts in August are 13 more than the second best total (Robbie Ray of the Diamondbacks with 38). Even though he made the one mistake to Ryan Howard in the seventh, it is only the fourth home run Scherzer has allowed this month.

While the Nats didn’t sign Scherzer to solely beat the Phillies, he has dominated them since joining Washington. He has a 6-0 record in eight starts against the Phillies over the last two seasons. Scherzer is finding his form at the right time and that should be a bad sign for the rest of the league.

Next: Nats Jump Ahead Early

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