Max Scherzer goes nine innings for the CG win

Game Recap | Box Score

My favourite thing about 2018 baseball is Max Scherzer. I guess he was also my favourite thing about 2017 and 2016 baseball. Maybe even 2015 baseball. When I was considering my baseball travels this year, I booked six Nationals games with the intention of seeing Max live at least once, and maybe twice.

There are very few starting pitchers in the modern game that are able or allowed to throw more than 100 pitches in a game. There are even fewer that will be allowed to start the 9th with ten strikeouts, one walk and one run game through eight. There is no one else who can send his manager back to the dugout after giving up four singles in the ninth and two more earned runs. There may be other pitchers who currently have more wins or a lower ERA, but there is no one who has been as consistent, healthy and locked in for the last three seasons — at least — than Max.

Supposedly Max even joked with Dave Martinez that he “had enough in the tank” to start the second game of the day. He’s an animal.

To say that I was happy with this game would be an understatement. To finally get in a full game, after all the delays over the past few days, has been an absolute pleasure.

Originally, we had tickets to today’s 7:05 pm game, but it was turned into a doubleheader, collapsing yesterday and today’s game into one. So, we chose to attend the first and skip the second, which in hindsight was a good idea. As much as I love this wonderful sport, with the Jayson Werth ceremony, I would not have been happy being at the park until 1:42 am when the second game finally ended. Dinner with friends and an early evening out was a much better course of action.

Here is a video of the Jayson Werth Tribute on YouTube and the Nationals Twitter feed explaining how everything would rollout today It was a good day for a Nationals fan as Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer make it a miserable doubleheader for the Cubs in Washington. Even Joe Maddon had something to say about this weird and wild rainy weekend with 10 takeaways from the Cubs’ playoff drive and wacky-weather weekend at Nationals Park.

— Warren Wilansky: Game #29 of 2018