Scherzer accomplishes what he set out to do (Nats, Cards tie 4-4)

NATIONALS QUICK WRAP

Score: Cardinals 4, Nationals 4 (nine innings)

Recap: Wilson Ramos had three hits, Max Scherzer pitched four innings of two-hit ball and Ryan Zimmerman added an RBI single in his first Grapefruit League appearance. Scherzer allowed a run with a walk and five strikeouts in his longest start of the spring. The Nats' first four hitters in the first inning reached via hits with Bryce Harper's run-scoring double, a Michael Wacha wild pitch and Zimmerman's single providing a 3-0 lead. Reliever Erik Davis coughed up the lead in a three-run eighth. But Pedro Severino hit an RBI single with no outs in the eighth to tie the game.

Need to know: Center fielder Ben Revere got tied up on a pitch from Marco Gonzales in the fourth, and the ball struck him in the left shoulder as he tried to corkscrew out of the way. However, because it was ruled a swing by home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt, it went down as a strikeout.

On deck: Monday, vs. Astros in Viera, 1:05 p.m.
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VIERA, Fla. - Dusty Baker may have hedged when asked if Max Scherzer will be his opening day starter in Atlanta on April 4, but the right-hander sure sounds like he's preparing to take the hill in the Nationals' first game of the season for a second consecutive year.

"Only time will tell," Scherzer said after working four innings and allowing a run on two hits to the Cardinals. "Today was a 60-pitch limit, so that's what's good - building up the arm strength to that. Eventually, opening day I'm ready for 100, 110 pitches. This is another checklist."

Scherzer threw 42 of his 60 pitches for strikes, walked one and struck out five in his longest ...

Wait, did Scherzer say opening day?

Before the game, Baker stopped short of saying Scherzer would get the nod, but strongly hinted that would be the case.

"Who knows? We'll see how it is, whether it is or not," Scherzer said. "That's for him. I pitch."

Against the Cardinals, who used minor leaguers to populate the bottom five spots in the batting order, Scherzer spent the afternoon working on his off-speed offerings.

"We were kind of working on everything, especially with guys you don't plan on facing during the regular season, so you have a chance to work on some different things, show some guys some different looks," he said. "I was happy with how my off-speed was. Like I said, they all weren't well-executed pitches. I had good results, but I'm just telling you: They're all not executed the way I wanted to, but I was at a much higher clip today."

But with opening day three weeks from Monday, he feels like he's getting closer to where he wants to be with his execution.

"I attacked the zone, threw a lot of first-pitch strikes," he said. "That was something I wanted to do today and I was able to accomplish. I think I just had more well-executed pitches. I'm slowly getting more in line with how I want to execute all my off-speed, whether it's in the zone or out of the zone, and that's what's important. As you keep going in spring, you get more and more feel with how you execute and today was another step forward."

Scherzer did something Sunday he didn't get a chance to do in his first season with the Nationals: pitch with most of the regular lineup healthy and hitting behind him. Aside from Ryan Zimmerman serving as the designated hitter and Clint Robinson replacing him at first base, the Nats' batting order was full of regulars, and they staked him to a quick 3-0 lead.

"We have a chance to have a good offense and really score some runs," Scherzer said. "It's going to be exciting to see those guys produce runs because I love run support."