Nationals’ Max Scherzer gets knocked around in disastrous first inning
Scherzer #Scherzer
Well, that didn’t take very long. It’s been a rough start to the year for the Nationals, who had their opening weekend series scrapped after several members of the organization tested positive for COVID. Washington finally began its season Tuesday with division-rival Atlanta (fresh off getting swept by the Phillies) visiting the nation’s capital for a 4 PM ET first pitch at Nationals Park.
Even playing shorthanded (Patrick Corbin, Jon Lester and Kyle Schwarber are among nine Nationals currently in quarantine), Washingon had to be feeling confident with three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer toeing the rubber on Opening Day. But that hope faded quickly thanks to Braves leadoff man Ronald Acuna, who devoured Scherzer’s first-pitch fastball with an emphatic, 416-foot moonshot to left.
That couldn’t have been a confidence booster for Scherzer, whose nightmare first inning continued two batters later when last year’s National League MVP Freddie Freeman launched his 3-1 offering to high heaven.
With home run totals soaring across the league, MLB tried to crack down on that trend by instituting a new ball this season, but it’s had little effect Tuesday with balls flying out of the yard left and right. In his five innings at the helm, Scherzer has already served up four homers (something he’s only done two other times in his career) with Acuna, who didn’t hit a lick in Philadelphia over the weekend (2-for-12 with five strikeouts), responsible for two. The Nats have also teed off on Scherzer’s Atlanta counterpart, Drew Smyly, submitting four hits including a two-run, third-inning blast courtesy of shortstop Trea Turner.
Though they’re not off to the most promising of starts, the Nationals are hoping to turn things around this season after limping to a last-place finish in the NL East a year ago, albeit in a shortened, 60-game slate (26-34).
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