Harper homers twice, Scherzer piles up strikeouts (Nats win 7-2)

ST. LOUIS - Bryce Harper learned this afternoon he had received the most All-Star votes of any player in baseball, and now tonight is showing everybody why that was the case.

Max Scherzer learned this afternoon he had received his fifth consecutive All-Star selection, and now tonight he is showing everybody why he deserves to start the Midsummer Classic.

Harper has homered in each of his first two at-bats, providing the largest chunk of offense needed to supply the Nationals an early 5-0 lead over the Cardinals.

Scherzer, meanwhile, has retired nine of the first 10 batters he has faced, seven via strikeout, in merely the latest dominant opening to one of the ace's outings.

This was billed as a nationally televised marquee pitching matchup, but the Nationals have been all over St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martínez from the get-go. After Brian Goodwin led off the game with a double and then advanced to third on Michael A. Taylor's sacrifice bunt, Harper launched a 2-2 pitch to right field for his 19th homer of the season.

Two innings later, after Taylor drew a leadoff walk, Harper crushed an 0-2 pitch from Martínez deep to right, finding the home bullpen for his second homer in three innings and 20th of the season.

Anthony Rendon's RBI double a few moments later extended the Nats' lead to 5-0.

That has been plenty of cushion so far for Scherzer, who is up to his usual tricks on the mound. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner struck out the side in the bottom of the first, then added two more in the second and third innings.

It's the third time Scherzer has struck out at least seven batters through three innings in his last six starts, a remarkable run of dominance.

Update: It's still 5-0 Nats after five innings, and Scherzer is still dominating. He has 10 strikeouts already, making this the 10th time already this season he has reached double digits in strikeouts. For comparison's sake, the Nationals had 10 total starts with double digit strikeouts from 2006-11. Yeah, 10 of them in six seasons. We are witnessing greatness, folks. Don't forget that.

Update II: Make it 7-0 after the Nats added a couple of insurance runs in the top of the eighth. That will have to be enough for the bullpen, because Scherzer is done after seven scoreless innings. He allowed only two singles and two walks, struck out 12 and threw 100 pitches before getting a hug in the dugout from Dusty Baker.

Update III: It's not over quite yet. Enny Romero gave up a two-run homer to Tommy Pham in the bottom of the eighth, though he avoided complete disaster by getting three outs without allowing any more runs. So the Nats will take a 7-2 lead into the ninth.

Update IV: That'll do it. Matt Albers pitches the ninth to finish off a 7-2 victory and help the Nationals avoid a weekend sweep at Busch Stadium. They'll take a late flight home to D.C. and then host the Mets at 6:05 p.m. tomorrow night.