The Washington Nationals edged the Marlins 5-4 in 10 innings Friday night, but considering they are eight games behind the New York Mets in the NL East with 16 games to play, their season probably won't extend into the playoffs. That said, ace right-hander Max Scherzer continues to try his darnedest to win whatever he can.
In the top of the seventh inning with the Marlins threatening to score and the home bullpen stirring at Nationals Park, manager Matt Williams went to the mound to see how Scherzer was doing and...
Scherzer told him to get back to the dugout, to get lost, to get away from him, or something like that.
"I want it! I [really] want it! I [really] want it!" Scherzer can be seen saying, and Williams turned around and walked back to whence he came.
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Was it the best bit of managing Williams has ever done? Possibly. A great manager would have turned around after one, "I [really] want it!" when meeting the fury of Mad Max, but at least the hint was gotten. After that moment, Scherzer collected himself and an inning-ending ground ball followed by Dee Gordon.
After the game, Scherzer said of his angry moment:
Scherzer on MW mound visit: "Yelling, 4-letter words & I want the ball ...I've done it to some pitching coaches, managers, Leyland, Ausmus."
— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) September 19, 2015
Scherzer allowed two runs over seven innings, lowering his ERA to 2.90. Washington's slide out of playoff contention hasn't been his fault, but Scherzer hasn't been great in the second half, either, coming in with a 4.50 ERA over his most recent 11 starts. Some of it has been bad luck, but he's also been hit much harder, allowing a .506 slugging percentage. Adjustments will need to be made. But, at least in one area, he can roar like a lion and protect his opportunities, we know that. And so does Williams.
