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Phillies come close but fall to Nationals
- Updated: August 31, 2016
PHILADELPHIA — Once again Max Scherzer flirted with history, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning as he delivered another dominant start against the Phillies on Tuesday night. He overmatched the Phillies for eight innings, striking out 11 to lead the Nationals to a 3-2 victory.
“I think when he goes out there, we’re pretty pumped,” Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper said. “Being able to see him do what he does, every five days he has an opportunity to go out there and throw a perfect game or a no-no. That just goes to show how hard he works and how he goes about it. Lot of fun to watch, lot of fun to play behind, and just an absolute machine.”
It was Washington’s eighth consecutive victory over Philadelphia; the Nationals have won 13 of their last 15 games at Citizens Bank Park.
Scherzer did not surrender a hit until the sixth inning, when Freddy Galvis lined a leadoff double off the wall in right field. Philadelphia got on the board in the seventh on a two-run homer from Ryan Howard, who had struggled mightily against Scherzer in his career.
“We need to improve our plate discipline. We’re just not getting hits,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. “It plays into anybody’s strengths who can change speeds.”
“I knew I needed to change it up and really start hitting my offspeed early in those first at-bats,” Scherzer said, “because it just seemed like they were going to be very aggressive on that first-pitch fastball.”
Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff entered the game with a 9.91 ERA from the sixth inning and later this season, so his day was done following the sixth after a quality start in which he allowed three runs and struck out four.
“I know [Scherzer’s] a tough pitcher, so I know I’ve got to be on point with my stuff as well,” Eickhoff said. “Try to keep our guys getting into the dugout and [getting] the bats. He pitched a great game. You know that going in, so it’s a challenge.”
MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDAnother near no-no for Max: For the ninth time in his 61 starts since he joined the Nationals before the start of the 2015 season, Scherzer carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He has done so more times than anyone else in the Majors during that span, almost 15 percent of his starts. Scherzer did not finish the feat, but still managed to give the Nationals eight strong innings. He also reached double-digit strikeouts for the 12th time this season, the most in the Majors and setting a Nationals record.
“I’m sure …
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