When Max Scherzer takes the mound for the Washington Nationals, they will always have a chance to win. But when they fail to turn hits into runs and throw the ball around in critical situations, that chance shrinks dramatically.
That’s what happened Thursday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals. Scherzer did his part in the series finale, allowing just two runs over seven innings, but the Nationals lost, 4-1. They have now dropped two in a row.
THE RUNDOWN: Just as there’s a formula for winning, there’s most definitely a formula for losing. And the Nationals followed it pretty closely Thursday afternoon. They went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Then they threw the ball around with two outs in the eighth inning. A double off the wall by Matt Adams fell to Bryce Harper, who fired it to Danny Espinosa, who threw it over Jose Lobaton’s head. Aaron Barrett, who had just entered the game, was backing him up. He caught the ball and tried to catch Adams between second and third, but his throw sailed over Ian Desmond’s head and into center. Adams scored easily. And a combination of sloppy defense and poor situational hitting proved to be the difference for the Nationals once again.
THE HIGHLIGHT: Washington tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning, so in that way it was a highlight. But mostly, it was just weird. It started with what might have been a Nationals Park first: A liner from Espinosa that hit the slice of padding between the foul pole and the Nationals’ bullpen. If it’s two feet to the left, it’s a home run. Instead, it was a double. Then, in the next at-bat, it appeared Scherzer had grounded out to the shortstop in a relatively routine play — except Cardinals Adams wasn’t standing on first base. Scherzer was declared safe after a video review, then went first to third — that’s right, first to third — on Denard Span’s single to right. Espinosa scored. All in all, it was a strange series of events.
STAR OF THE GAME: This is getting a bit repetitive, but it’s Scherzer. As I said in this space after his last start, and probably the one before that, he’s been as good as advertised. Thursday’s outing was his worst of the season, but that says more about how impressive he’s been than the outing itself. Scherzer gave up two runs on six hits over seven innings with one wild pitch, one hit batter and four strikeouts. It was the first time this season he allowed more than one earned run in a start. He only threw 82 pitches, but Tyler Moore pinch-hit for him in the seventh in an effort to spark the offense.
THE TAKEAWAY: The bullpen is a concern. That we already knew. This time Barrett, who had been remarkably steady to this point, was the victim. It’s still April, and it’s still early, and all of that. But the bullpen bears watching. Also, this could be something, or it could be nothing, but Ryan Zimmerman did not look comfortable on the basepaths for the majority of this game. After hitting a single in the fourth, he didn’t take a large turn around first base like he normally does and appeared to be moving gingerly. He didn’t come out of the game, so don’t freak out yet, but we’ll see what he and manager Matt Williams have to say.
SEE ALSO: Pete Kozma returns to Nationals Park, where he’s still Public Enemy No. 1
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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