Nats will give Scherzer extra day off, start Lopez on Sunday

NEW YORK - The Nationals will give Max Scherzer an extra day off, bumping his originally scheduled start from Sunday night against the Mets to Monday afternoon against the Braves.

Reynaldo Lopez, who will be recalled from Triple-A Syracuse, will start the series finale at Citi Field in Scherzer's place ... provided the weather cooperates. (The edges of Tropical Storm Hermine could impact the New York area at some point Sunday and Monday.)

There's nothing physically wrong with Scherzer, who carried a no-hitter into his last start (Tuesday in Philadelphia) and is 7-2 with a 2.07 ERA over his last 12 outings. And the right-hander was prepared to start Sunday night on regular rest.

The Nationals, though, decided to take advantage of the schedule, the addition of September call-ups and their comfortable lead in the National League East and push Scherzer back a day.

"I feel good," Scherzer said. "My shoulder and elbow, they all feel great. At this point of the year, where I'm at physically, I can take on extra workload. This is why you work hard the whole season: So at the end, you can shoulder even more workload if you need to. And I'm physically at that point where I can. If they choose to do that, that's great. But if they also want to give me an extra day of rest without hurting the team at all, I completely get their decision."

Scherzer's only concern: He wants to make sure he still gets to 34 total starts by the end of the regular season. Pitching coach Mike Maddux assured him that won't be a problem.

"I get it. As long as I don't lose a start," Scherzer said. "And Mad Dog mapped it out and said I wouldn't lose a start even if I get an extra day right now. So I'm not fighting him."

Given the 8:08 p.m. EDT start Sunday in New York followed by a 4:05 p.m. EDT Labor Day start Monday in D.C., Scherzer will head home early and miss the finale at Citi Field altogether.

Lopez, meanwhile, will be making his sixth career start. The 23-year-old right-hander last pitched Tuesday for Syracuse, giving up three runs in seven innings, lining him up well to pitch for the Nationals on Sunday.

"That was Lopez's day, I believe," manager Dusty Baker said. "I mean, you would love for Max to pitch against the Mets. But we felt the extra day was more important than Max pitching here."