In season gone wrong for Nationals, Max Scherzer still awes on mound
Max Scherzer has become the modern-day Nolan Ryan before our every eyes.
Every time the man steps on the mound, you can't take your eyes off him, never knowing what you'll miss.
This night, in a season gone horribly wrong for the Washington Nationals, Scherzer carved a piece of baseball history Saturday with his second no-hitter of the season, with a performance that will rank among the greatest ever produced.
"We're all privileged,'' Nationals manager Matt Williams said, "to be able to witness this.''
Simply, it was one of the most dominant no-hitters in baseball history.
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Scherzer struck out a franchise-record 17 batters in his epic performance, including the last nine batters he faced, until Curtis Granderson ended the game by hitting a weak infield popup that landed softly in the glove of third baseman Yunel Escobar.
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Just like that, Scherzer became only the sixth pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw two no-hitters in one season.
Scherzer joins Ryan, who threw seven no-hitters in his Hall of Fame career, as the only pitcher to have 17 strikeouts in a no-hitter since 1900. He also is the only pitcher in history to throw two no-hitters without permitting a walk in either game.
Why, if not for Escobar's throwing error, and a hit by pitch in his first no-hitter June 20 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Scherzer would have been the first pitcher in history with two perfect games in the same season.
Scherzer may not have led the Nationals to the World Series this season, and won't win the Cy Young award, but, oh, has he ever put on a show.
Who else could interrupt the most exhilarating baseball day of the season, with the Los Angeles Angels pulling off a comeback for the ages to put the AL West and wild-card race into disarray, but Mad Max?
Scherzer became the first pitcher in 42 years to throw multiple no-hitters in a regular season. He joined Johnny VanderMeeer in 1938, Allie Reynolds in 1951, Virgil Trucks in 1952 and Nolan Ryan in 1973.
"I'm speechless,'' Scherzer said, "when you hear something like that.''
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If you're a believer of Game scores, yeah, the ones that don't appear on your scoreboard, Scherzer's performance (104) goes down as the second-greatest since 1976, behind only Kerry Wood's 20 strikeout game in 1998 (105) for the Chicago Cubs.
"You're in synch with your mechanics,'' Scherzer said. "You're in synch with your catcher. You're in synch with what you want to do.
"You have a feeling what the out-pitch is, and you're reading swings, reading what they're doing, and just trying to execute pitchers around that.''
And he completely threw the Mets out of sync, who now have blown their home-field advantage in the National League Division Series, with the Los Angeles Dodgers needing one more victory to assure their season continues in Dodger Stadium.
Yet, on a night like this, we can wait another day before dissecting the postseason picture.
This night belonged to Scherzer, who suddenly is defying our imagination.
Sure, it's not like he came out of nowhere. The man is a fabulous pitcher. The Nats don't cough up $210 million if they don't think he's a premium starter.
Still, this is the same guy who never pitched a complete games in his career until this season.
It's the same guy who was 0-3 with a 6.43 ERA in August.
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And now he's the same guy who will be forever remembered in baseball history.
It was the way he finished the game that captivates the imagination. Why, since the sixth inning until the final batter he faced in the ninth, he struck out every batter he faced with his overpowering fastball and sharp curveball.
He toyed with everyone, striking out Granderson with a 97-mph fastball on one pitch, Ruben Tejada on an 87-mph slider with another, and Michael Conforto on an 88-mph changeup on another.
He looked so strong that he could have gone 15 innings.
"I know the season didn't go the way we wanted it to,'' Scherzer said, "but we finished strong.''
Let's qualify that: At least Scherzer finished strong.
Scherzer says he didn't take any extra satisfaction pitching his no-hitter against the Mets, who are going to the playoffs, but you've got to feel for Mets starter Matt Harvey. Harvey faces him twice this season, and sits back and watches Scherzer strike out 27 batters and yield one run in 16 innings.
Well, at least the Mets could have it easier in their next game of importance with the regular season ending Sunday.
They'll only have to face Los Angeles Dodgers co-aces Zack Greinke or Clayton Kershaw in the best-of-five Division Series.
It's been that kind of season, with the Mets getting no-hit twice this season, and the Dodgers also suffering the same indignity.
Here they are now, facing one another in the playoffs, beginning Thursday, with Scherzer sitting home on his couch.
Crazy times.
Follow Nightengale on Twitter: @BNightengale
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