Disastrous seventh inning sends Nats to 8-2 loss to Braves

Dusty Baker has left Max Scherzer on the mound deep into games more than once this season, justifying his decisions based on the fact the league's reigning Cy Young Award winner is better than anyone he could summon from his bullpen.

Earlier this year, given the state of the Nationals' relief corps, it was a defensible decision. And during a pennant race, there's logic to the move. But with the Nats having already wrapped up a division title and now just trying to keep everyone healthy before the postseason begins in three weeks, it was a highly questionable choice on the manager's part.

And it backfired in spectacular fashion tonight during an 8-2 loss to the Braves.

Scherzer was allowed to face five batters in the top of the seventh, which began with the game knotted at two. He didn't retire any of them, with four of the batters reaching via walk (one intentional). And by the time he finally was pulled with the bases loaded, reliever Brandon Kintzler served up a grand slam to Matt Kemp that put a final nail in Scherzer's coffin on a strange night on South Capitol Street.

Scherzer, who took his first loss since June 21 and whose ERA skyrocketed from 2.34 to 2.59 in that five-batter stretch alone, may have seen his campaign for a second straight Cy Young Award significantly damaged. Instead of two runs allowed in six innings, he wound up charged with seven runs in six-plus innings. His six walks were his most since 2013, one shy of his career-worst outing (which came in 2012).

Scherzer wasn't his usual crisp self, failing to retire the side in any of his first six innings of work. But he made pitches when necessary and might well have posted nothing but zeroes if not for some shaky defense behind him.

Howie Kendrick misplayed Lane Adams' deep drive to left in the top of the fifth into a triple, putting Adams in position to score on Ozzie Albies' single to right. One frame later, Wilmer Difo couldn't cleanly handle what should've been an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play, settling for only one out at first base. Moments later, Tyler Flowers sent a lazy ball down the right field line past Jayson Werth for an RBI double.

Scherzer walked off the mound after the top of the sixth, his pitch count at 97, the Nationals trailing 2-1. Baker could have elected to have him call it a night right there, but nobody warmed in the pen. And when Trea Turner singled, went all the way to third on Ruiz Gohara's errant pickoff throw and scored on Difo's RBI single, Scherzer returned to the mound for the top of the seventh in what was now a 2-2 game.

Things immediately fell apart. Scherzer walked Adams to open the inning, prompting Sammy Solis to begin warming in the bullpen. He then walked pinch-hitter Jace Peterson, prompting Kintzler to begin warming in the bullpen. His pitch count now at 109, Scherzer finally received a visit from the dugout. Except it was his pitching coach, not manager.

After the conference with Mike Maddux, Scherzer continued to labor to find the strike zone. He walked Albies on five pitches, his third consecutive free pass, loading the bases for Dansby Swanson. At this point, his pitch count was 114, he was missing the strike zone by a healthy margin and at least one of the two relievers had to be warm. Instead, Scherzer remained on the mound.

And two pitches later, Swanson sent a sharp single through the left side of the infield, bringing home two runs and giving the Braves the lead. An intentional walk of Freddie Freeman later, Baker at long last made the walk to the mound (with some boos emanating from the crowd of 24,850) to pull his ace after 116 pitches.

In came Kintzler, with Solis taking a seat after having warmed up without entering the game. And out went the baseball, with Kemp launching a grand slam to left field on the very first pitch he saw. Just like that, the Nationals trailed 8-2, with seven of the runs charged to Scherzer.

It didn't help that their lineup struggled all night to get going against Gohara, the husky Brazilian left-hander who in his second career start allowed two runs in six innings, didn't walk a batter and threw 52 of his 71 pitches for strikes.

But the underlying story of this game, and one that will surely leave some Nationals fans holding their breath come October, was the manner in which the club's ace was left on the mound at a moment when a pitching change seemed the obvious move to all but those who had the authority to make that move.