Lobaton's unique skill set provides perfect change of pace for Nats hurlers

Right-hander Max Scherzer returned to form Thursday night in the Nationals' 4-0 victory over the Orioles. Scherzer recorded at least 10 strikeouts for the 11th time this season to improve to 14-7.

His 227 strikeouts this season lead the major leagues.

One element of yesterday's win that was different than most of his previous starts this season was his batterymate. Backup catcher Jose Lobaton replaced starter Wilson Ramos.

Manager Dusty Baker said before the game he wanted to give Ramos a day off. Ramos has scuffled the past couple of weeks at the plate.

"Day off would do everybody good, but you don't always get it," Baker said. "Day off would do me good, but guess what? I got to go to work. We have to grind through this period. I've tried to give Ramos days off. I was surprised when you told me he's caught the second-most games in our league.

"That's hard to believe with the amount of days off I've given him because I remember when guys caught 140 games, 150 games. It's a little bit different now. A day off will do him good."

And it should. But it's OK to give Ramos a day off because the Nationals don't lose anything from the defensive side with Lobaton behind the plate. Lobaton even contributed a double in the fifth and finished 1-for-3.

Scherzer said Lobaton brings a little bit different skill set than Ramos because of his size and framing of pitches behind the plate. Ramos is 6-foot-1, 257 lbs., while Lobaton is listed as 6-foot-1, 206 lbs.

"Really, the best thing Loby does for you is, he's smaller than Willie, so he's able to get down lower and give you a great low target and you're really able to explode through the bottom of the zone with him," Scherzer explained. "He can get you extra calls at the bottom of the zone. He's a great defensive catcher, so if anything, it's almost a plus when he's back there for me. It's just a different type of style of catcher and he's got a great mind, too, of when to call pitches, so it really makes it easy to trust him."

Lobaton said he tries to play lower in his crouch position and looks to get the low strike for his pitcher.

"It's been one of my best things last couple of years that I can make low pitches look better," he said. "So I try to work on that. Something I can do good, I got to keep doing it. If it's something that's going to be good for the pitcher, it's going to help the pitcher do better.

"It's not only (Max), I got Mark (Melancon) today and I talked to him before the way he wanted to pitch. He told me I like when you call up, I just put the glove (up) like when you call down, put the glove (down). You try to work with that. I feel like it is good if I can handle those pitches down. If they like it, it's better for me because it's something positive that I can continue doing."

The Nationals catchers are both outstanding defenders, as well: Lobaton has a .955 career fielding percentage and Ramos checks in at .954.

Lobaton is a huge asset for the club because just like any other frontline player, the Nats need Ramos to be at full strength and as fresh as possible for their potential October run. Giving Lobaton playing time and Ramos days off without losing quality of play behind the dish provides that.