Scherzer remains dialed in, dominates Cards again

It's only spring training, so all the usual caveats must apply. These games don't count. Different players take different approaches when they're on the field. Objectives aren't the same on March 15 as they will be on April 1.

Now, having gotten all that out of the way, this needs to be said: Max Scherzer looks absolutely dialed in right now.

With a dominant, four-inning performance today during a 4-2 loss to the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla., Scherzer built off his two previous exhibition starts and continued an impressive progression forward that it appears will ensure he's more than ready to face the Mets for real in 2 1/2 weeks.

"Today he looked really, really good," manager Davey Martinez said during his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "He was also in the mid-to-upper 90s, but what I liked is that the ball was coming out very, very easy out of his hand. So all his pitches had a good shape to them. We're heading in the right direction with Max."

Facing the Cardinals for the third time in a row - an unfortunate byproduct of the reduced-travel Grapefruit League schedule - Scherzer looked his best yet. He allowed two hits over four innings, struck out seven and threw 45 of his 58 pitches for strikes. He did all this while also averaging nearly 95 mph with his fastball and topping out at 97 mph.

"My stuff feels real good," he said. "I felt like I made the adjustments from last start."

Not that Scherzer needed to make too many adjustments after a nine-up, nine-down start five days ago. He displayed pinpoint command that day, and he picked up right where he left off this afternoon.

In fact, over these last two starts, Scherzer has now thrown a whopping 78 of 100 pitches for strikes, issuing zero walks across seven innings while striking out 13.

"I go in there every start trying to pound the zone, work ahead in the count," he said. "I'm not out there to throw a ball. I'm out there to throw strikes, especially in spring."

Scherzer used all five of this pitches, adding 11 curveballs, seven sliders, five cutters and four changeups to his 31 fastballs. He threw more strikes than balls with all of them except for the cutter (two strikes, three balls).

And he did that against Cardinals hitters that are starting to become all too familiar after three head-to-head matchups in the last 10 days. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado have gotten plenty of looks at the three-time Cy Young Award winner.

Some pitchers might see that as a problem and even go so far as to request to pitch in a B game on a back field instead of facing the same opponent again. Scherzer is less concerned about deploying that kind of strategic maneuver right now than in making sure he's competing in real games to get himself ready for his season opener against the Mets.

Then again, he might change his mind if the guys in the batter's box were wearing blue and orange, not cardinal red.

"If it was the Mets, I'd probably feel differently, but the Cardinals are in the Central," he said. "And it's early in spring. I think it's like four ABs (against) some of their main guys ... so that's fine."

Scherzer could actually face this dilemma before camp ends two weeks from today. Depending on how many days of rest the Nationals want to give him now, his final two spring starts could come against either the Marlins or Mets (or one against each).

Whether that matters to the ace remains to be seen. Right now, he's more focused on doing his thing on the mound, no matter who he's facing. And somehow finding ways to be even better than he's already been.

"There's still more gears left," he said. "There's still more levels of pitching beyond just pounding the zone. It becomes how you're executing with two strikes, where you're trying to get chases. That'll eventually come. ... There's still more to accomplish before you're really in midseason form."