Scherzer, makeshift lineup come together to beat Rays (updated)

After a grueling, 11-game road trip that for all practical purposes quashed hopes of October baseball around here, the Nationals returned home this evening just needing to feel good about themselves for a change.

A makeshift lineup that was missing four key regulars from recent weeks due to nagging injuries only made the task more challenging against a Rays club that came into the day with the American League's best record. But what that lineup lacked in name power made up for it with professional at-bats and multiple rallies.

And a return to elite form by Max Scherzer ensured the Nats would feel good about themselves at the end of a 6-1 victory that was cathartic on multiple levels.

With seven scoreless innings, Scherzer shut down Tampa Bay's typically productive lineup. And thanks to some support from his own unconventional lineup, Scherzer and the Nationals won for the third time in four days.

At 15-25 and the season now two-thirds complete, the odds of a wild card berth remain stacked against the Nats. But that didn't feel so important on a Monday evening when everyone was just pleased to win a well-played game against a quality opponent.

"That's the Max that we know right there," manager Davey Martinez said during his postgame session with reporters. "He really pitched well. We needed that today."

Lineup construction has become a daily chore for Martinez, who is dealing with injuries new and old and often doesn't even know who's available until shortly before first pitch. The challenge reached new heights tonight.

At 2 p.m., Martinez believed he'd have Juan Soto back in his lineup after he missed all four games over the weekend in Atlanta with sore left elbow. He knew he wouldn't have Howie Kendrick (hamstring) or Asdrúbal Cabrera (back), but hoped he'd have Luis García (heel).

Then the official lineup was posted shortly before 4 p.m. and Soto (who felt "OK" during batting practice) wasn't in it but García was. Then, 90 minutes later, García was scratched, his heel barking when he tried to wear his game spikes. The end result: The Nationals took the field to face the AL East leaders with Brock Holt, Kurt Suzuki and Josh Harrison occupying the third through fifth spots in the order.

"Let's put it this way: I drank an extra cup of coffee," Martinez said. "And I kind of regrouped and tried to figure things out."

You know how these things go, though, right? The lineups that look the most helpless on paper turn into the most productive ones in action. And sure enough, this scrappy group of nine hitters put together enough quality at-bats to scratch out three runs in five innings versus Rays starter Charlie Morton and then tack on three more against reliever Trevor Richards in the sixth.

They did it, once again, without benefit of a home run but instead with a string of hits and productive outs. They got three hits, including an RBI double, from unexpected cleanup hitter Suzuki. They got a two-run opposite-field double from Michael A. Taylor. And then got two more hits from Holt, who after an 0-for-10 start to his Nationals career now has 10 hits in his last 16 at-bats.

"Obviously, everybody likes the three-run homer," said Suzuki, who has been forced into the cleanup spot three times over the last two seasons due to injuries to others. "But when you keep the train moving, keep the line going, it puts a lot more pressure on the defense. A lot more traffic out there. And I think sometimes that can work to your advantage."

All of that run support made life easy on Scherzer, who did put himself in some early jams but never succumbed, stranding runners on base in each of his first four innings.

Scherzer kept getting stronger as the evening wore on. He retired 10 in a row at one point, four via strikeout. And he was efficient enough to pitch deep into the game, becoming the first member of the Nationals rotation to complete seven innings since Aug. 23, a span of 15 games that put some serious strain on the bullpen.

"I always want to get through seven innings," Scherzer said. "If I can get out there and get deep into the game, seven innings, it allows our bullpen guys to only have to try to get six outs. That's always a huge goal of mine, to get deep into a ballgame."

Martinez did have to use closer Daniel Hudson tonight after Will Harris loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth and raised his pitch count to 31. But when Hudson struck out Randy Arozarena on four pitches to end the game, the Nationals were able to smile and enjoy a relative easy, 2-hour, 41-minute win in a season that hasn't included enough of those, thanks in large part their ace who looked like an ace again.

"What a night for Max," Martinez said. "He picked us up tonight."