Even without "A" stuff, Scherzer still delivers impressive 6-1 win

Max Scherzer and the Nationals got exactly what they needed from their No. 1 starter - a quality start - in a game in which he didn't have to be "maxed" out. He allowed the Cubs just one run in the first inning, doing it all without his best stuff.

Scherzer went six innings and used only 93 pitches as the Nats dropped the Cubs 6-1 to even the series at 1-1.

Manager Dusty Baker said what might be even scarier for the rest of the league is that Scherzer didn't even have everything clicking and he still was able to keep the Cubs down.

"He didn't have his A-plus stuff, you could tell," Baker said. "(Pitching coach Mike Maddux) said he didn't warm up very well in the bullpen. You could see early in the game, he was off. But he found a way to go six innings, which was big."

Scherzer agreed with Baker when they spoke between the sixth and seventh frames. The 121 pitches in the Marlins game last week that was a dramatic near-miss no-hitter affected the game plan Tuesday night.

"I made what I had work tonight," Scherzer said. "Coming off a couple outings in a row where my pitch count's really gotten up there, I didn't really have great fastball command tonight, but I was able to use my off-speed to kind of collect outs when I needed to and I didn't walk anybody.

"With a lineup like that, if you don't walk anybody, that's a big part of help keeping them at bay. Matt (Wieters) did a great job behind the plate tonight putting down the right finger and we worked well, and when we needed shutdown innings, we got them."

Baker thought about the seventh inning for Scherzer. But they decided to turn to Enny Romero to begin the final three innings.

"We were flirting with letting him go out for the seventh, but that was enough especially after he had 120 pitches in his last start going for the no-hitter, then the shutout and eventually lost it," Baker reasoned. "Figured that was enough for him. I told him, 'Hey man, we don't want to hurt you.' I told him I'm not worried about that, but he just didn't have much in the tank tonight."

The Cubs connected on an RBI triple from Kris Bryant in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. They added a double by Tommy La Stella in the third. But that was all the hits the Cubs could manage against Scherzer and four relievers.

Blake Treinen arrived in the eighth inning and was able to fire a scoreless frame, which included a strikeout of Javier Báez. He said Scherzer showed what kind of pitcher he was by fighting back after falling behind on some of his counts.

"Max threw a heck of a game and you could almost argue that it wasn't a typical Max start," Treinen said. "That's what great pitchers do when you don't have your 'A' stuff. Not saying that he did or didn't, but typically I think he can tell you he's ahead of guys more than he was.

"But he's such a good competitor and pitcher to not let any of that affect him. There's a few times where he was 3-0, 3-1 on guys or 2-0 and he battled all the way back and was able to get them out and went six strong innings with two hits and one run. It was an impressive start."

Scherzer also came through on offense, which is one of his favorite things to do in this game. His RBI single in the fourth was part of a rally that extended the Nats' lead to 4-1. In the fifth, he added another single.

"Love it. That way I get to talk trash, too, especially when you hit a ball hard up the middle and not just a cheap hit," Scherzer said. "When pitchers ever hit, you get to run your mouth a little bit more."

I wrote a pregame story on how good the No. 3 through No. 6 hitters have been with runners in scoring position. Scherzer is now 4-for-6 this season with RISP.

"I've just had results," he said. "I know I'm not a great hitter by any means, but I just try to find a way just to get the ball in play, not strike out in those situations and just try to keep the ball up the middle or hit the ball the other way.

"That just shows you if you keep the ball up the middle, I had that play last start where the ball hits a glove. That's a tough ball when your glove's going up. You kind of deflect it. Same thing happened tonight. Now I was the beneficiary of that to be able to get an RBI."

After allowing an early run, Scherzer went on a patented streak of his own: He retired 16 of his last 17, including the final 10 batters he faced.

"Just sticking to the plan and executing all my off-speed stuff and using the fastball when I needed to," Scherzer said. "I know how dangerous they are. They usually come out against me pretty aggressive. I didn't throw a ton of first-pitch strikes tonight, but more importantly, I didn't walk anybody.

"It's just finding what pitches do work. The little cutter into the lefties allowed me to help set up anything that they were trying to ambush on. That was the pitch that really allowed me to be effective tonight."

Center fielder Michael A. Taylor, who's two-run double ended the scoring at 6-1, was impressed that Scherzer could do what he did on an admittedly "off" night.

"It's amazing, right?" Taylor asked. "He's dominating on the mound. And I actually did hear him say that in the dugout, that he didn't really feel too good. Understandably. He had a long game last outing, and he still came out and battled and put up a quality outing and gave us a chance to win the ballgame. That's all you can ask for."