Max Scherzer is already arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Wednesday, he added to his legacy and Hall of Fame resume. One day after breaking his nose after popping a bunt into his face during batting practice, the Washington Nationals’ ace was on the mound starting while sporting a puffy black eye
A warrior in the sense, Scherzer refused to sit out his scheduled start Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Then he proceeded to dominate the Phillies, striking out 10 batters while pitching seven shutout innings.
Scherzer is already a three-time Cy Young winner, winning in both the American and National League. He already has the MLB record for most strikeouts in a game with 20. He pitched two no-hitters in one season (2015).
Impressive is the norm for him, however, his performance Wednesday has to rank up there in his accomplishments. Video showed just how bad his black eye was swollen as it moved during each pitch.
Still, he stifled the Phillies in route to a 2-0 win. If there was any doubt where he ranks in the pecking order of pitchers, it silenced with a marveling performance.
“It really is one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in a while,” second baseman Brian Dozier said per Mark Zuckerman of MASN. “We were talking about it just a little while ago: He’s probably the best pitcher of our generation, and you don’t get that status unless you take the ball every fifth day. If you’re doing good, you’re doing bad, you’ve got a broken nose, you always want the ball.”
The Nationals now have won 16 of their last 23 games and have climbed within four games of the second National League wild card. Scherzer has gone 4-0 during that stretch with a 0.93 ERA and 0.72 WHIP in four starts.
After a shaky start to the second — in large due to a woeful bullpen — Scherzer has hit his stride and set to challenge for his fourth Cy Young.
Wednesday against the Phillies was the latest installment into a very special career.
June 19, 2019 will forever be “The Black Eye Game” for Max Scherzer and Nationals’ fans.
