A few days ago, Max Scherzer was standing on second base during batting practice when he struck up a conversation with Ian Desmond. The team’s $210 million ace had a few questions for its savvy veteran shortstop, matters of situational baserunning, how to read the ball off the bat, when to go and when to pause.
On Friday night, Scherzer found himself pondering those same topics. Only this time, he was on first base. And this time, it mattered. Desmond was at the plate, and when he hit the ball, hard, to straightaway center field, their conversations turned to practice. Scherzer sprinted from first base to second, second to third and finally, at the urging of third base coach Bobby Henley, he ran home, stomping on the plate before the relay throw arrived.
In doing so, Scherzer gave the Washington Nationals the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, and helped his own cause. It proved to be the decisive run, as well, as Washington held on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 2-1, and win its sixth consecutive game.
Afterwards, Desmond thought back to that batting practice chat with Scherzer.
“It’s little things like that that make him special,” Desmond said, “that make him the competitor that he is.”
Scherzer’s contract with the Nationals is the largest deal ever signed by a right-handed pitcher, and its historic nature set an impossibly high bar for the right-hander in his first season in Washington. And yet somehow, in his first nine starts of the season, he has managed to clear it.
SEE ALSO: Max Scherzer leads Nationals past Phillies, 2-1
On Friday, Scherzer limited the Phillies to four hits and one run over eight innings. He struck out six batters, walked only one and threw 79 strikes in 110 pitches. And then, of course, there was the leadoff single and decisive run.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play with two strikes,” Scherzer said. “I was just trying to compete up there. I was ready for any off-speed and it was just kind of an emergency hack when I saw the fastball. Fortunately it found a hole and Desi put a great swing on the ball to hit that ball into the gap there. Just tried to do the right read and run the bases the right way.”
Scherzer’s baserunning and approach at the plate — “slider bat-speed, cheating the heater,” he said with a grin — nearly overshadowed another dominant night on the mound. Second-inning doubles by Ryan Howard and Odubel Herrera resulted in Philadelphia’s lone run. Scherzer was in control from there.
In recording his fourth consecutive win, the 30-year-old eclipsed the 100-pitch mark for the fifth time this season. He also pitched seven innings or more for the eighth time in nine starts.
“Max, early in his career, we would find him at 100 pitches after five [innings] a lot of times,” manager Matt Williams said. “But he’s developed into someone that can throw the breaking ball for a strike, get into a count early, get ahead and then go to work. Doesn’t have to rely on the fastball necessarily to do so. So I think they had a good approach against him tonight. They got balls up in the strike zone to hit, but he can be efficient that way, and [got] through the eighth inning for us.”
When asked about his penchant for pitching deep into games, Scherzer pointed to a comfort with his offspeed pitches and an ability to avoid walks. In nine starts, he has 72 strikeouts and only nine walks. That helps keep his pitch count low and extend his outings, something he takes great pride in.
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“You can give your bullpen some rest and just go out there and compete as long as you can,” Scherzer said. “That’s why I love being a starting pitcher and I love going out there and giving you everything I got. When I can go deep into a game it helps the ball club even more and that’s something I take pride in.”
Over the past week, Williams has raved about Scherzer the teammate in addition to Scherzer the player. He’s served as the informal fantasy sports commissioner in the clubhouse and introduced a chocolate syrup celebration after close victories. He’s also been as stellar — and consistent — on the mound as expected. And on Friday, with a little help from Desmond, he added baserunning to the list.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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