Max Scherzer is dominant as Nationals beat Phillies, 7-2

It all came together for the Washington Nationals on Friday night. Starter Max Scherzer was dominant, Bryce Harper hit a towering three-run home run in the first inning and the Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-2.

THE RUNDOWN: The Nationals have done a tremendous job of building early leads in recent games, and the trend continued Friday. Yunel Escobar got it started with a leadoff single in the first inning, Ian Desmond was hit by a pitch and Harper crushed a ball to straightaway center field, well beyond the 402-feet mark. Just like that, the Nationals built a lead that, with Scherzer on the mound, is relatively safe. Danny Espinosa added a solo homer in the fourth inning (his second home run from the left side of the plate this season) and a three-run seventh all but sealed it. After a slow start, this Nationals lineup is rolling, folks.

THE HIGHLIGHT: For the second time in the first 11 games of the season, Ryan Zimmerman made an incredible sprawling catch in foul territory, diving headfirst to catch a popped-up bunt attempt by an opposing pitcher. This catch might have been even more impressive than the first, only because he had to go deeper into foul ground to get to the ball. He also drove in two runs at the plate, then scored from second base on a wayward throw to first in the next at-bat. In other words, he had a pretty good night.

STAR OF THE GAME: In the first three starts of his Nationals tenure, Scherzer has allowed two earned runs — and you could argue the run he allowed Friday shouldn’t have scored at all, had Harper played Odubel Herrera’s line drive cleanly off the wall and held him to a double. But that’s besides the point. The point is this: Through three starts, Scherzer has been as dominant as expected. He finished with nine strikeouts in eight innings Friday after striking out eight apiece in his first two outings. He has yet to allow more than six hits or one run in a start. And his ERA is .083. Though it’s nearly impossible for any pitcher to live up to a $210 million contract, the Nationals can’t ask for much more than Scherzer has provided so far.

THE TAKEAWAY: First, the positives. Scherzer has been incredibly good, perhaps even better than expected. And after a few nightmarish games on the road, the Nationals’ lineup has been good, with more help soon on the way when Denard Span returns. The negative? Escobar’s injury. Escobar left Friday’s game early after apparently hurting his leg(s) while sprinting down the first base line. When Dan Uggla entered the game in the following inning, the Nationals had no other infielders on their bench. What that means is this: If Escobar can’t play Saturday, the Nationals will almost have to put him on the disabled list, freeing up a roster spot to recall someone like Ian Stewart or Emmanuel Burriss from Triple-A Syracuse. They could maybe give Escobar one day to rest, but anything else would probably trigger a move and take Escobar, one of Washington’s most productive hitters this season, out of the lineup for 15 days.