The Washington Nationals have announced starting pitcher Max Scherzer suffered a broken nose, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN. Scherzer popped a bunted ball into his face during batting practice Tuesday.
He was seen walking back to the clubhouse with blood around his nose.
The Nationals initial fears were confirmed when Scherzer was sent to an outside doctor for further examination.
Scherzer is scheduled to start in one of the Nationals’ doubleheader games against the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday. However, that start is now uncertain with his broken nose.
The mishap adds to a season of injury misfortune for Washington. Just as they got back to relative strength, now this happens.
Despite his 5-5 record this season, Scherzer has been the most consistent pitcher on the team. And he is still arguably the best pitcher in baseball. He has a 2.81 ERA and is second in MLB with 136 strikeouts. He also has the second-highest WAR at 3.9 among pitchers in MLB.
The Nationals are slated for a critical four-game series with their NL East rivals, the Phillies. Monday’s series opener was postponed due to rain and is slated to be made up Wednesday as part of a doubleheader.
Scherzer could very well pitch Wednesday or the team could opt to slide him back in the rotation to give him time to heal. He has only had two injured list stints throughout his MLB career, including a 10-day stint in August 2017 while with the Nationals with inflammation in his neck.
