Max Scherzer beats Nationals in Mets debut despite distractions
By Jordan Shusterman
FOX Sports MLB Writer
Everyone knows about Max Scherzer’s legendary preparation. We know about his competitiveness and his otherworldly talent.
But one of his more underrated superpowers was on display Friday night at Nationals Park: his ability to tune out the nonsense and just pitch like the ace he is. In his much-anticipated Mets debut, Scherzer delivered a Scherzer-like performance, pitching six strong innings to beat Josiah Gray and the Nationals 7-3.
For all the excitement surrounding his return to the place he called home for nearly seven full seasons, Scherzer did not end up being the biggest story Friday.
The bubbling drama stemmed from Thursday night’s opener, in which three batters were hit by pitches, including one especially scary one when a 95 mph fastball thrown by Nationals right-hander Mason Thompson came up and in, grazing Pete Alonso’s shoulder before hitting him in the lip.
Fortunately, Alonso was OK, but there was certainly some tension heading into Friday’s game. So when Francisco Lindor was hit in the face while squaring to bunt against Steve Cishek in the fifth inning, the Mets’ frustration boiled over, and the benches cleared.
This felt like a pretty classic baseball case of neither side being right or wrong — it was all just extremely unfortunate. The two HBPs on Thursday were by Thompson and Andres Machado, two young, inexperienced relievers who throw very hard with very questionable command. Facing pitchers such as that can always be dicey, even if they aren’t trying to throw at hitters.
But Cishek, who has pitched in 668 MLB games, certainly had no reason to throw at Lindor, and he was visibly frustrated by the suggestion that he did it on purpose. At the same time, it’s hard to blame the Mets for being riled up after they watched two of their stars barely avoid significant injury from dangerous pitches just two games into the season.
Once the sides were separated and Scherzer finally took the field after the chaotic and eventful top of the fifth, there was ample activity in the Mets’ bullpen. With it then just a one-run game, manager Buck Showalter was keeping all his options open. Scherzer, though, as unflappable as can be, went right back to work.
The lengthy delay on a night that kept getting chillier did not faze the future Hall of Famer one bit. The bullpen activity quickly subsided.
As usual, Scherzer was committed to going as deep as possible and saving the Mets’ bullpen for the final two games of the series. He threw six innings, allowed three earned runs, walked one and struck out six.
The benches-clearing brouhaha will surely remain a talking point over the next 17 games between these two teams this season, but it wasn’t going to throw Scherzer off.
Nothing throws Scherzer off. He had a game to win. That’s why they pay him the enormously big bucks.
Scherzer has historically stayed out of on-field messes. In fact, the closest he has seemingly come to being any kind of aggressor on the field came last year, when Phillies manager Joe Girardi suggested that the right-hander might have been using some illegal substances:
But it’s not like Scherzer hasn’t seen his fair share of fracases. The 37-year-old right-hander has pitched in the big leagues for 15 years and has hit almost 100 batters. Of course he has seen the benches clear. But you’ll rarely if ever see him in the middle of the tussling, and Friday was no exception.
Remember the completely outrageous altercation between Nationals teammates Bryce Harper and Jonathan Papelbon at the end of the 2015 season? Scherzer almost threw a no-hitter the very next day. "Contrary to what you guys believe, we can have distractions and still play well," he said after that game.
That's exactly the kind of attitude he’ll need as he embarks on his tenure with one of the more consistently drama-filled organizations in pro sports. Friday was his first challenge to rise above the fray and perform despite the circus.
Unsurprisingly, he handled it without much trouble.
Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He lives in D.C. but is a huge Seattle Mariners fan and loves watching the KBO, which means he doesn't get a lot of sleep. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.
