Scherzer dealing, Zimmerman mashing (Nats win 3-1)

SAN FRANCISCO - Max Scherzer had the look early tonight of a guy poised to once again do something special.

The end result won't be special after the Giants plated a run in the bottom of the fourth, but Scherzer nonetheless still has the look of a guy putting together another dominant start.

The right-hander retired the first 10 batters he faced, four via strikeout, before allowing a clean single and then a not-clean double when Jayson Werth and Michael A. Taylor appeared to lose a routine fly ball in the twilight at AT&T Park.

That botched play - it officially was scored an RBI double for Buster Posey because neither outfielder came close to catching it - got the Giants on the board in their quest to come back from an early three-run deficit.

The way Scherzer has looked overall, that will be a tough task.

The Nationals staked Scherzer to a 3-0 lead before he ever took the mound. With two on and one out in the top of the first, Ryan Zimmerman pounced on a first-pitch curveball from Matt Cain and sent it soaring to left field.

With 15 home runs, Zimmerman has now matched his 2016 total in 272 fewer plate appearances. His 44 RBIs are two shy of his total last season.

The Nationals have been putting pressure on Cain throughout the game but haven't been able to convert that into any more runs beyond Zimmerman's homer. Taylor doubled and Scherzer followed with a four-pitch walk in the top of the second, but each was stranded on the bases. A pair of two-out singles in the third went for naught when Brian Goodwin struck out. And two more singles in the fourth were wiped out when Werth grounded into a double play.

Update: Scherzer is through six innings, having allowed one run on four hits (one of which landed between Werth and Taylor, one of which bounced off Goodwin's glove, one of which skipped just over first base). He's at 74 pitches. The Nats continue to give themselves scoring opportunities but haven't pushed anything across the plate since Zimmerman's first inning homer. So it remains a 3-1 lead heading to the seventh.

Update II: What a performance by Scherzer. On a night in which neither Koda Glover nor Matt Albers likely was available out of the bullpen, the Nats ace went the distance. He tossed a one-run complete game on 100 pitches, striking out 11 and never forcing Dusty Baker so much as to consider warming anybody else up. Nats win 3-1 behind an utterly dominant game from the reigning Cy Young Award winner, and they sweep the series.