Scherzer Acing First Season in Washington

The Washington Nationals were the winners of last off-season’s big free agent prize, signing former Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer to a 7-year, $210 million contract. The Nats hoped that by signing Scherzer and putting him at the front of their already loaded rotation, they would be set up to win multiple World Series championships.

Having teamed him with fellow starters Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Doug Fister, and Jordan Zimmerman, Scherzer and the Nationals currently sit in first place in the NL East with a 39-33 record. Though a somewhat modest 8-5 record may not indicate it, Scherzer has been as advertised in his 14 starts this season.

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The presumed ace of the Nationals staff, he currently leads all of Major League Baseball with a ridiculous 1.76 ERA, allowing only 20 earned runs in a National League-leading 102.1 innings pitched.

Scherzer was originally the 11th overall pick in the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of the University of Missouri Columbia. Instantly becoming one of the best prospects in the D-Backs system, the St. Louis native would need only 27 starts in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut on April 29, 2008.

In his debut, Scherzer pitched 4.1 dazzling innings in relief of starter Edgar Gonzalez, giving up no hits, no walks and recording seven strikeouts. Scherzer would later be sent back down to AAA, but finished the year with the big club, starting his final four games of the season.

Scherzer came into 2009 with great expectations, but didn’t do much to live up to them, going 9-11 with a mediocre 4.12 ERA over 30 starts. Always known for his power arm, Scherzer did rack up 174 strikeouts. After that disappointing 2009 season, the D-Backs stunningly shipped off the right-hander in a three-team trade involving the D-Backs, Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees.

Along with Scherzer, the Tigers received D-Backs pitcher Daniel Schlereth, plus the Yankees’ Phil Coke and outfield prospect Austin Jackson. The Yankees acquired Curtis Granderson, while the D-Backs netted hurlers Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy, whom they believed would be big parts of their starting rotation. The trade of the then-24-year-old Scherzer puzzled many people, as it seemed like the D-Backs were giving up on him too early.

Scherzer said he was “shocked” by the trade, but would soon show his former team why they made a crucial mistake in moving him. 2010 was his first season in the American League, and Scherzer posted a very respectable 3.50 ERA while also earning double-digit (12) victories. He also struck out 184 in 195.2 innings.

But, that was only the beginning. In his 2011 and 2012 seasons, Scherzer won 15 and 16 games respectively. He also continued to show off his dominant stuff by notching 231 strikeouts in his 2012 season, second most in the AL.

Those 2011 and 2012 campaigns were just warm-ups. The 2013 season saw Scherzer become an All-Star, as he went an outstanding 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA, and took home the American League Cy Young Award. His 21 wins led Major League Baseball and his astounding 240 punchouts ranked second only behind Texas’ Yu Darvish, who netted 277.

Teaming with Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander, the two formed arguably Major League Baseball’s best one-two punch. And by adding solid starters Anibal Sanchez, Rick Porcello and Doug Fister into the mix, the Tigers had one of the best rotations in the game as well. Scherzer’s Cy Young and 12th place finish in the AL Most Valuable Player voting indicated that he finally had begun to get some much deserved credit, but he had more to showcase on the mound.

Scherzer finished 2014 with an excellent 18 victories—tied for the most in the AL and fourth most in all of Major League Baseball, and lost only five games. He set a career high for innings pitched by logging 220.1 over 33 starts, and a new career high in strikeouts with 252. Again, Scherzer was selected as an American League All-Star, and finished fifth in the AL Cy Young voting. The big right-hander was everything and more the Tigers could have expected when they made the trade for him in December 2009.

In his five years in the Motor City, Scherzer compiled an outstanding 82-35 record, good for a .701 winning percentage. He had a 3.52 ERA in 1013 innings pitched, and struck out 1081. The Tigers unsuccessfully tried to lock him up to keep him in Detroit before his contract ended after 2014, but Scherzer wanted to test the free agent waters.

He was the top free agent on the market after the 2014 season, and was rumored to be associated with several teams. The Nationals won out, though, and acquired a pitcher with not only a fabulous regular season record, but one who has proven he is clutch in the postseason as well.

In 12 playoff games (10 starts), Scherzer has a 4-3 record and a 3.73 ERA in 62.2 innings. That record may not seem all that impressive, but isn’t truly indicative of what he has done. In Game 4 of the 2012 ALCS against the New York Yankees, Scherzer threw an effective 5.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out 10, to finish off a clean sweep of the Bronx Bombers. In the 2013 ALDS, Scherzer won Game 1 by tossing seven innings of two-run ball, and came back in Game 4 with his team down 2-1 in the series to get the win in relief of Doug Fister, forcing a Game 5 which Detroit would win.

Besides his nasty stuff, the key to Scherzer’s success has been pinpoint control. He has never allowed more than 70 walks in a season, and has allowed just 14 walks over his 14 starts this season. Joining an already talented Nationals team, he leads the pitching staff in wins (8), ERA (1.76), strikeouts (123), innings pitched (102.1). His 4.2 WAR places him second on the team behind phenom Bryce Harper, but it can be argued that Scherzer has been the team’s MVP thus far.

Holding a 1-2 record after four April starts, Scherzer took home the National League Pitcher of the Month Award in May by going 5-1 with a 1.67 ERA, pitching at least 7 innings in every one of his six starts. He allowed a single run or fewer in five of those six starts, and capped off the month with a five-hit shutout of the Chicago Cubs in a game where he also had 13 strikeouts.

Coming off another disappointing first-round playoff exit, there are great expectations for Scherzer and the Nationals to go deep in the playoffs. He certainly has done his part to keep the Nationals afloat in what has so far been an up-and-down season for the club.

“My last two starts, this is some of the best baseball I’ve thrown, best pitching I’ve done” ~ Scherzer

Two starts ago, Scherzer fired a complete game, one-hit shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers, recording a career-high 16 punchouts. That would lead into a bit of MLB history for Scherzer. In his last start, Scherzer no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates, and came within one out of a perfect game before hitting the Pirates’ Jose Tabata.

Scherzer’s father was actually in attendance for the no-hitter, pitched on Father’s Day, making the moment even more special. The no-no was the 289th in the history of the game, and the second this season. For his efforts, he was awarded NL Player of the Week for June 21.

After the game, Scherzer’s father Brad talked to the Washington Times about watching history unfold before his eyes.

“You just watch it, one out at a time,” Brad Scherzer said. “There’s not much else you can do except enjoy it. And you enjoy what he’s doing. You see the look on his face, the determination that he’s got.”

Scherzer himself talked to MLB.com about being locked in during his last two outings.

“My last two starts, this is some of the best baseball I’ve thrown, best pitching I’ve done,” Scherzer said. “I just feel like I’m executing with all my pitches. I just continue to keep getting better and it shows you hard work pays off.”

Scherzer has been on top of his game recently, which spells bad news for the Phillies who will face him on Friday at Citizens Bank Park. He has already faced the Phils three times this season, and has two wins to show for it.

Scherzer pitched six innings in his first outing on April 12, giving up one run on six hits and two walks in a 4-3 Nats victory. In his second outing five days later, he went eight solid frames, again giving up just a single run on four hits and no walks. Finally, in his last start against the Phillies, he dazzled with another eight inning of four-hit, one-run ball. Over those three starts, Scherzer has struck out 23.

For the Phillies, Ben Revere and Odubel Herrera have found the most success against Scherzer. Revere is 7 for 21 against him, while Herrera is 4 for 9 with a double and a triple. The rest of the lineup has done little against Scherzer, and with the way he has been pitching, he should be in line for his ninth “W” of the year.

First pitch Friday at the Bank is set for 7:05. Scherzer opposes Phillies righty Aaron Harang.