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Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer keeps Orioles as sick as parrots

By Blake Finney

BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 30: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 30, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - MAY 30: Max Scherzer #31 of the Washington Nationals pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on May 30, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Nationals continued their incredible run with a sixth win in a row on Wednesday. Max Scherzer dominated, leaving the Orioles feeling sick.

The Washington Nationals are on some kind of roll lately. Behind Max Scherzer on Wednesday, they racked up win number six in a row, and eight in the last nine games. The perfect way to get ready for a crucial series against the Atlanta Braves.

Scherzer had by far his worst start of the season last time out against the Miami Marlins, when he gave up four runs. But on Wednesday, he threw eight lights-out innings with a remarkable 12 strikeouts.

It was his 72nd career 10+ strikeout game, and already his eighth of the season. He continues to have arguably his most dominant stretch of his entire career to start the 2018 season.

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The MVP case grows for the Nationals ace, as he continues to deliver on the mound.

Although Jacob DeGrom is currently a nose ahead of him in ERA, Scherzer’s Ks and also impressive performance with the bat have him ahead in pitcher’s WAR. He has a 2.8 mark, which only Justin Verlander can beat his figure in all of baseball. All we can do is continue to be spoiled rotten by Max Scherzer as this point.

Harper hits another dinger

Following up his home run last night, Bryce Harper stays on the warpath against pitching of late with his joint-major league leading 18th long ball of the year.

The power isn’t likely to go away any time soon, especially as the summer months roll around and the ball flies further. But the concern for the free-agent to be, is the strikeouts he’s racking up.

Before Tuesday’s game, he had a whopping 12 strikeouts in just five games. For someone who had more walks than Ks in the early going, it’s worrying. However he didnt whiff in the last two games, to go with the homers, he’s been able to put the ball in play.

If he can adjust his two-strike approach and shorten up his swing, then with his raw power, the hits will fall. And with the cavalry on the way back from injury, the pressure will be off him to keep hitting them over the fence.

Adam Eaton heads on rehab assignment Friday

In some other positive news for the Washington Nationals, it was announced that Adam Eaton would head on a rehab assignment this Friday. He’s been ahead of schedule for a while now, and could now return when first eligible on June 8th.

It was also revealed by Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post that Eaton would see time in center-field as well as his usual left-field. This all seems to point to the Nationals being willing to keep Juan Soto on the roster when Eaton is activated.

Soto is the key to how the roster crunch shakes out over the next few weeks. If he performs, then Eaton will likely shift to center-field a few times a week. The Nats obviously like Eaton there enough, as they traded for him with that being the intention. Obviously two big injuries may change that, but if Soto keeps performing, they have no choice.

Next: Murphy coming off the DL "fairly soon"

The Washington Nationals have now won their last ten straight road games, and with a trip to Georgia this weekend, they’ll look to extend that even further.

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