Scherzer continues to amaze on the mound and in the record books

Of all the records Max Scherzer has accrued in his career of pitching, consider he set another mark in Sunday's 6 1/3 innings against the Phillies:

.@Max_Scherzer is the first pitcher EVER to strike out at least 15 batters while recording 19 outs or less. pic.twitter.com/lpYhGLePIl

-- MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) May 6, 2018

The list of amazing feats from this Scherzer gem doesn't end there:

1. 15 strikeouts in game were a season-high.
2. He struck out the side three innings in a row.
3. 14 of his first 16 outs were by strikeout.
4. He struck out seven in a row.
5. Rhys Hoskins and Jose Alfaro struck out three times in a row.

"Max set the tone," said manager Davey Martinez. "He did. He gave us everything he had."

Even with all that, the Nats had to rally from 3-1 and 4-1 deficits to win 5-4 thanks to a two-run single by Anthony Rendon, a key walk to Pedro Severino and a walk-off single by Wilmer Difo.

Scherzer knew himself that his pitch count was heavy from the beginning. He finished with 111 pitches, 71 for strikes.

"I had my pitches but I just kept falling behind in the count," Scherzer said. "Didn't do a good job creating count leverage for myself. But I was able to continue to make pitches and get the count back to two strikes and throw an out pitch. and obviously collected a ton of strikeouts today."

But Scherzer gave a lot of credit to the Phillies and their ability to make him work. He said this intra-divisional opponent has done their homework on him, and it shows.

"I also got to tip my hat to them. They grind me real hard." he added. "They know what I throw. They have really good approaches. I couldn't just put anything in there in a 1-0 ballgame. Jake (Arrieta) threw the ball really well today. It's one of those things where you just kind of - that's just the way the game is shaking out. You just have to keep battling and try to pitch as deep as you can in the ball game."

Martinez kept a watchful eye on Scherzer's fatigue status because of all the pitches he had to throw early on.

"We had conversations from the fifth inning on, and we talked," Martinez said. "I know Max, and at that point, he went out in that last inning with purely heart. I told him, I said hey, you get the first two hitters after that, and he agreed."

And then in the seventh, the Phillies got a single from Pedro Florimón to start the frame. In vintage Scherzer fashion he struck out the next batter, Alfaro, and then Martinez pulled him for the bullpen.

"Like I told him, I said 'hey, you gave us a chance to win, and that's all I could ask," Martinez said. "I'm proud of you. We got this'."

Despite all the pitches piling up, Scherzer said his defense helped him stay as along as he did with a big play to end the sixth.

"That was a big double play," he said. "I really felt like I was able to pitch well and I felt like I was strong enough to go back out there. I know the pen is a little tired right now and anything I can do to go out there and continue to pitch out there deep into the game, I felt good enough to at least go back out there."

Scherzer knew what he was up against in the seventh and relayed his side of the conversation with Martinez after a man got on:

"(H)e said if a runner gets on then we'll look to pull you," he said. "The first batter I felt behind in that count, 2-0. And then I was able to at least compete again and get a strikeout of Alfaro in a big situation so for me, there's a lot good in this."

And this quote gives you all you need to know about how Scherzer intricately analyzes what he looks to accomplish on the mound with each start. While others might be trying a find a way to throw strikes, Scherzer continually analyzes, tweaks, fine tunes and redefines each of his pitches each outing:

"The stuff, obviously, I've been trying to get everything solidified in terms of all the offspeed pitches and separating them," Scherzer noted. "I felt like I was able to do that today. Just needed to get back into the zone. I need to work on being 0-1 and being 0-2, 1-2. So if I can do that, that's when I know I can be really successful."

As for loudest no-decisions of season? Scherzer is 1-0.