Baker on Scherzer's zone, Zimmerman's return and Revere's shoulder

VIERA, Fla. - Having watched the mastery of Max Scherzer mostly from afar and on television, Nationals manager Dusty Baker is still getting to know his ace. On Sunday, Baker got a lesson in how zoned in the right-hander gets during his starts when he attempted to congratulate him on a strong four-inning effort.

"Max looked great. He was sharper today than he was, which you expect and you hope," Baker said. "One thing I learned today is you don't give him five when he comes in the dugout. He looks right through you with one of those eyes you got. You just leave him alone. Somebody told me, 'Hey, he don't do that, he don't give five when he comes in.' OK, I learned."

Scherzer allowed a run on two hits with a walk and five strikeouts, throwing 42 of his 60 pitches for strikes.

So the death stare - whether it was with the blue right eye or the brown left eye - left a lasting impression on the new manager. Hey, that's what spring training is for, right?

"That's what you call learning about your players," Baker said.

Ryan Zimmerman, making his 2016 Grapefruit League debut as a designated hitter after being held out of the first 10 games while the club treats and manages his persistent case of plantar fasciitis in his left foot, came out of his first game action with no problems, the manager said.

The Nationals are keeping a close eye on how Zimmerman runs and he got an early test on the base paths after singling home a run for a 3-0 first-inning lead.

"I'm sure he felt a little foreign, and these guys are ahead of him, so he's playing a little catch-up," Baker said of Zimmerman. "But it's not going to take him too long, the way he can hit. We'll just keep an eye or more on him on the baserunning definitely. Hopefully, he'll probably DH one more time, see how that comes out, then we'll put him in the field. It's good to have him back."

With a little luck, Zimmerman could be manning first base later this week.

Center fielder Ben Revere was deemed fine after a Marco Gonzales pitch struck him in the left shoulder during a weird fourth inning at-bat. Revere was trying to corkscrew himself out of the way of the inside pitch, which wound up catching him on his back shoulder during a forward motion.

But since he was going around with the bat, home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt ruled Revere had swung. Head athletic trainer Paul Lessard and Baker came to the plate to check on Revere, and after a couple of minutes, Revere started trotting toward first base, thinking he had been hit by a pitch before retreating to the dugout and leaving the game.

Baker checked with Lessard after the game, got the all clear and said Revere would be in the lineup tomorrow afternoon for a home game against the Astros.