Scherzer rusty, but healthy in return from injured list

Max Scherzer would've liked the outcome to be better. He would've liked to last more than five innings. He would've liked to give up fewer than three runs. He would've liked to not be pulled after only 86 pitches.

But all of that from Thursday's start was secondary in Scherzer's mind to the more pressing takeaway: He felt healthy for the first time in three weeks. And as long as he still feels healthy when he gets up today and heads to Nationals Park to play catch, he'll be satisfied knowing he's over this rare injury break and can finally focus on the really important task that awaits him.

"Get back out on the mound, compete, get ready, and get ready for Atlanta," he said. "That's where my head's at."

The Nationals had Scherzer make his return from the injured list Thursday specifically because it lines him up to make his next start against the division-leading Braves. And because it lines him up to face Atlanta twice more later in the season, perhaps helping give his team a chance to catch its National League East rivals.

Competitor that he is, Scherzer wanted to beat the Rockies on Thursday. But the combination of his shorter-than-usual start and the Nats' late bullpen meltdown prevented that from happening.

No big deal. Scherzer was content simply to be back on the mound after dealing with inflammation of the bursa sac underneath his right shoulder blade. He wasn't 100 percent sharp, and he gave up three runs for the first time in more than two months. But that was less significant than his physical well-being.

"Just felt rusty today," he said. "You don't pitch for a couple weeks, the command's kind of off. I kind of anticipated that coming in, just trying to figure out what I was going to be able to execute today. So for me, I'm more concerned about the back tomorrow."

Scherzer said he won't truly know if he's beyond this injury until he sees how he feels today. But he didn't seem to anticipate any lingering issues.

The Nationals were unusually cautious with their ace in this start. They limited him to 86 pitches, and manager Davey Martinez said he saw signs during Scherzer's fifth inning that suggested it was time to call it a day.

"We talked about (capping his pitch count) before the game, and he was good," Martinez said. "I really believe that after that inning, he was a bit fatigued. He hasn't been out there in three weeks."

Frustrated though he might've been to fail to reach the sixth inning for the first time since April 2, Scherzer understood the situation and didn't try to put up a fight.

"I knew exactly coming in that's exactly how it was going to play out," he said. "Look, we're down three runs, my spot's up, (86) pitches. You knew that's what was going to happen. It is what it is."

It was a necessary first step back for Scherzer. Now, provided he feels fine today, he'll be cleared to ramp himself back up to the kind of workload we've come to expect from one of baseball's most accomplished workhorses.