Notes on Scherzer, Wieters and Strasburg (Nats roll 13-1)

NATIONALS QUICK WRAP

Score: Nationals 13, Astros 1

Recap: Playing their first road game inside their home ballpark, the Nationals jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the Astros and never looked back, banging out 17 hits. Jayson Werth's three-run homer highlighted the first-inning rally. Anthony Rendon and Bryce Harper also homered to lead the onslaught. Non-roster invitee Kyle McGowin got the start and tossed two scoreless innings. Top relievers Shawn Kelley, Blake Treinen and Sammy Solis all made their first appearances of the spring.

Need to know: Proponents of the Trea Turner-Adam Eaton combo at the top of the lineup got a taste of the duo's potential in the first inning today. Turner led off the game with a double, stole third and then scored on Eaton's sacrifice fly. There are drawbacks to batting them one-two - most notably that it would likely leave three left-handed batters (Eaton, Harper, Daniel Murphy) in a row - but one advantage is the ability for those two to produce a lot of quick runs without assistance from anybody else.

On deck: Friday, split-squad vs. Cardinals in West Palm Beach and Marlins in Jupiter, 1:05 p.m.

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Could Max Scherzer actually throw three-fingered fastballs in games this spring - or even in the regular season? The Nationals aren't ruling out the possibility, if their ace needs to do it to protect his still-healing right ring finger.

"I think he could do that," general manager Mike Rizzo said. "I know that he's doing that to continue throwing and to keep his shoulder strong, preparing himself to pitch in the regular season. Seeing the ball come out of his hand the way he's throwing it, I think it works well for him to A) keep his shoulder in top form to prepare for the season and B) if he has to resort to that, he can."

Scherzer hoped the stress fracture in the knuckle on his finger would have fully healed by now, but he continues to feel some level of discomfort when he throws fastballs with a traditional, two-finger grip. Everything's fine when he throws any of his off-speed pitches, but the only way he can throw a fastball with no problems is to grip the ball with three fingers, keeping the healing knuckle from rubbing up against the ball.

He has been using that modified grip in bullpen sessions and today was slated to throw 60-70 pitches in total, a hefty amount for anything other than a game situation. Given that he's built his arm up that much, the next step for Scherzer should be to face live hitters, so he may begin doing that with the modified grip.

Few, if any, major league pitchers throw a three-finger fastball, but the Nationals say it doesn't appear to have any negative effect on velocity or command, despite concerns it might have some qualities of a changeup (which is thrown with the entire palm surrounding the ball.

"Hey, man, when I saw him throwing (long toss recently), it wasn't like no changeup," manager Dusty Baker said. "He was throwing the heck out the ball. I had to ask him: 'Was that a three-finger, or were you using two?' He said it was three. I never even dreamed of trying to throw three-fingers. You talk to anybody else out there, I doubt they've ever tried it, either."

* Matt Wieters hasn't played in a game yet and likely won't for several more days, but the recently acquired catcher has been getting plenty of work, most notably in the bullpen with his new batterymates.

Wieters, who signed a one-year, $10.5 million contract last week, has been trying to catch at least one bullpen session from every prominent member of the Nationals pitching staff, learning each of them as best he can.

"It's a lot of listening," he said. "Until we can get in games and catch them, it's a matter of envisioning what it will be like. But I'm just soaking in the information, and then whenever I do get a chance to catch them in games, just try to match up what they say to what I see behind the plate."

Wieters doesn't have a precise timeline for transitioning into game action, but said he doesn't typically need a lot of spring training at-bats to feel ready. His emphasis now is on his defensive and conditioning work.

"Over my career, it's gotten to the point where really two to three weeks of spring training is plenty to get the swing feeling good," he said. "To me, catching is always going to be number one. So trying to get ready defensively is most important right now."

* Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut Friday against the Cardinals. The right-hander had thrown an inning in an intrasquad game last Thursday, but hadn't returned to the mound since, raising some eyebrows. But Strasburg said this was planned all along, a product of an elongated spring this year due to the World Baseball Classic, and that his arm has felt great throughout the spring.

The Nationals play split-squad games Friday. Strasburg will start against the Cardinals in West Palm Beach, with A.J. Cole starting against the Marlins in Jupiter.

Update: Playing their first-ever road game inside their own spring ballpark, the Nationals are off to a rousing start today against the Astros. They scored four runs in the top of the first, thanks to Trea Turner's leadoff double and steal of third (he scored on Adam Eaton's sacrifice fly) and Jayson Werth's three-run blast off the left-field foul pole. Anthony Rendon added a solo homer of his own in the top of the third, extending the Nats' lead to 5-0.

Kyle McGowin, given an opportunity to start the game while the team lines up the rest of its regular rotation, tossed two scoreless innings despite allowing three hits.

Update II: Just like yesterday in Lakeland, this one has turned into a rout. The Nationals lead 11-0 at the seventh-inning stretch, thanks in part to a two-run homer by Bryce Harper, his second in nine spring at-bats so far. Werth also doubled to complete an impressive day at the plate in which he went 2-for-2 with a homer, a double and a walk. Shawn Kelley, meanwhile, made his first relief appearance of the spring and despite allowing a couple of two-out singles got out of the jam by striking out Jose Altuve.