Ramos reaches elite company following another game caught for Scherzer

Hey, I hear you are a Major League catcher?

Yes, yes I am.

What have you accomplished in your last 150 games?

Oh, I don't know, three no-hitters, one by Jordan Zimmermann, two from Max Scherzer, plus a record-setting 20 strikeout performance from Scherzer. No big.

I beg your pardon.

That is just part of the resume for Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, who caught Zimmermann's no-hitter to end the 2014 season, followed that up with a pair of no-hitters in 2015 and now a 20-strikeout performance by Scherzer just 34 games into the 2016 campaign.

Scherzer's previous best was the 17 strikeouts he mustered in his 2-0 no-hitter over the Mets on October 3, 2015.

On Wednesday, Scherzer struck out at least two batters in eight of the nine innings he pitched. He walked none.

Ramos described, through interpreter Octavio Martinez, what Scherzer was doing so well.

"The aggressiveness he showed out there on the mound," he said. "He kept attacking the zone despite the Tigers having a very impressive offensive lineup. He just kept attacking and that's what made him so good tonight."

Ramos called Scherzer's no-hitter in New York at the end of last season as well as his no-hitter June 20 at home against the Pirates.

Ramos, through Martinez, was asked how the 20-strikeout performance compares to last year's no-hitter against the Mets?

"It's obviously up there. It just is impressive the way (Scherzer) was attacking the zone against a very good lineup. He just felt like he was in control. Despite the couple of no hitters that I caught, 20 strikeouts is a major league record as well, so it's just as impressive as any of the no-hitters that I've caught."

And yet with two outs in the ninth, Scherzer had already hit 20 strikeouts. Ramos said he noticed that Scherzer was closing in on records when he reached the high teens.

"I wasn't too aware the total of the strikeouts until I looked at the board at some point and it said 17 strikeouts, and that's when it started actually hitting me a little bit," Ramos said. "And I started trying to dictate the game and game calling based on trying to get a punch out as opposed to trying have the [hitter] put the ball in play.

"That's when it became more obvious of what was going on. I wasn't sure of the record, but obviously I knew that it was a high total and I was trying to help him out get that."

What is impressive for Scherzer is that he was able to bounce back from his worst start of the season at Chicago with the best start of this season against the Tigers.

In Chicago on Friday afternoon, Scherzer allowed seven runs in five innings. The Nationals fell 8-6.

After Wednesday's performance, a 3-2 Nationals victory, Scherzer has now struck out 43 batters in his last four starts.

"I believe the biggest difference between this outing and the one in Chicago is the fact that he was hitting his spots a lot better," Ramos said. "He didn't really give up too many pitches over the zone.

"The two that he did were the two home runs, really. But he attacked the zone and kept moving those pitches and he locating his fastball a lot better, I think that's the biggest difference."