Scherzer and Harper's All-Star extravaganza heads to Cincinnati

The Washington Nationals may only be sending two players to the All-Star Game in Cincinnati next Tuesday, but they have arguably been baseball's best two players throughout this season's first half.

Bryce Harper didn't just win a popularity contest with his National League record 13,864,950 fan votes, he more than earned his way to the Midsummer Classic. His .344 batting average is third best in the majors, 25 homers are second most and his 60 RBIs are the third highest total. Harper's .471 on-base percentage, .714 slugging percentage and 1.185 OPS are all tops in the big leagues.

No pitcher in baseball is even close to Max Scherzer's 9.93 strikeout to walk ratio (139 whiffs, 14 walks) in his NL-best 118 2/3 innings pitched. Scherzer carved his way through his 16 starts with the majors' second-best ERA (1.82).

The duo swept the NL's Player and Pitcher of the Month Awards in May with mind-blowing numbers. Harper batted .360, blasted 13 homers and drove in 28 runs over 26 games while Scherzer posted a 5-1 record with 56 strikeouts and a 1.67 ERA in the month.

Despite injuries all around Harper in the lineup, he still hit .370, smashed six homers and knocked in 15 more in June. Meanwhile, Scherzer found another level. He took perfect games into the six inning in three consecutive starts settling for a no-hitter and a one-hitter. During the historic stretch, 54 consecutive batters came away hitless against the dominant right-hander en route to back-to-back NL Pitcher of the Month honors.

Harper has indicated that Scherzer has helped him study pitchers at the plate. And the 22-year-old slugger has more than paid his 30-year-old ace back for the advice. Harper's batted .408 (20-for-49) with 10 homers, 17 RBIs and 15 runs scored while playing in 14 of Scherzer's 16 starts this year.

"Being able to watch Max play or pitch every five days, it's a lot of fun," Harper said. "It's something that I enjoy. He's got that mentality out there that you want a guy to have out there. He really gets me locked in every single day. We have our little conversations about other pitchers and other teams and what not. It's just exciting and fun to watch. I'm glad he's on our side."

Harper's most memorable assist to Scherzer was an electrifying three-homer game, five RBI game in a win over the Marlins on May 6. That smashing performance ignited Harper's season.

"Bryce competes," Scherzer said. "He competes as hard as he can and I feed off that. I love it when I see players behind me playing as hard as they can, making plays in the outfield and doing all the little things it takes to win ballgames. For me, it pumps me up when I have guys like that behind me that want to compete. It's no fluke for me to see him hit home runs every time I feel like I go out and pitch. I feel like that's the reason we've been able to win ballgames when I go out there."

Harper's "where's my ring?" response to Scherzer's offseason signing figures to linger until the Nationals finish playing baseball this year. The two have combined to lead their ballclub through numerous injury setbacks to the top of the NL East. They'll arrive in Cincinnati in a few days as the best of the best at least through the first half of the season. But their performances in the second half is how the dynamic combo will eventually be measured on when fall blows in.

"I wish I already had a ring," Harper said. "I wish things were different with that, but I've always had dreams and aspirations to be one of the best players in baseball. So I just try to go out there and stay in my own lane. I try to play as hard as I can and help this team win.

"I mean, beyond all the numbers or anything like that, this team is so good. We've been good for four years now. If we can just keep going, keep doing the things we're doing and get the guys back we need to (when they're) healthy. And get going and have some fun. We're such a family in there. That's the biggest thing. We have fun.

"I just want to win. I mean, that's the biggest thing. Being able to add Max this offseason just amplified that for us. Everybody in that clubhouse wants to win, and I think that's what we dream about."