MLB postseason: Max Scherzer will start Wild Card Game, but Nationals say 'all hands will be on deck'
That could mean Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin in relief
By
Mike Axisa
•
2 min read
Earlier this weekend, the Washington Nationals secured a postseason berth despite losing 31 of their first 50 games this season. The Nationals are 72-38 since May 23, the best record in the National League, and it carried them to a postseason spot.
The Nationals will play in the Wild Card Game this Tuesday because the Braves have already clinched the NL East title. Washington will play either the Brewers or Cardinals in the Wild Card Game and will likely host it, though that's not set in stone yet. Here are the various clinching scenarios.
On Friday, Nationals manager Dave Martinez announced three-time Cy Young award winner Max Scherzer will start the Wild Card Game, as expected. Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin will be available out of the bullpen. From MLB.com's Jamal Collier:
"I feel fortunate to have Max Scherzer," Martinez said, "but also Strasburg and Corbin. All hands will be on deck."
A nagging back injury hampered Scherzer throughout July and August, but he's stayed healthy and made every start in September, and been stretched out as far as 6 2/3 innings and 109 pitches. He has had no restrictions the last few weeks and will presumably have no restrictions in the winner-take-all Wild Card Game.
Both Strasburg (18-6, 3.32 ERA) and Corbin (14-7, 3.05 ERA) have been dynamite this year whereas the Nationals bullpen has not. Washington's relief crew has a 5.73 ERA this season, second worst in baseball ahead of only the Orioles (5.81 ERA), though trade deadline pickup Daniel Hudson has helped. I imagine Scherzer to Hudson to Sean Doolittle is the team's ideal scenario.
That said, Strasburg and Corbin have been so good this year that avoiding the bullpen entirely -- that includes Hudson and Doolittle -- and using them in relief in the Wild Card Game may be the best plan of attack. Imagine Scherzer for six innings and Strasburg for the final three? That would still leave Corbin available to start NLDS Game 1 should the team advance.
A case can be made Strasburg, not Scherzer, should start the Wild Card Game given their career postseason numbers. To wit:
| IP | ERA | WHIP | K/9 | BB/9 | HR/9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scherzer | 83 | 3.73 | 1.11 | 11.9 | 3.4 | 0.9 |
Strasburg | 19 | 0.47 | 0.95 | 14.1 | 1.9 | 0.0 |
(Corbin has never pitched in the postseason. He was scheduled to start Game 4 when the Diamondbacks were swept in the 2017 NLDS.)
It's a small sample against a slightly larger sample, and besides, postseason performance is descriptive rather than predictive. It tells you what has happened, not necessarily what will happen. Case in point: David Price last year. He was a postseason choker until he wasn't. There's no reason (a fully healthy) Scherzer can't dominate in October.
If I were the Nationals -- and I most certainly am not -- I would plan on Scherzer and Strasburg covering all nine innings in the Wild Card Game, and forget about the bullpen entirely. Find out which guy is more comfortable coming out of the bullpen, and start the other one. In a winner-take-all situation, go with your best, and Scherzer and Strasburg are Washington's best.
Neither the Brewers nor Cardinals have announced any postseason pitching plans. The molten hot Jack Flaherty lines up to pitch the day of the Wild Card Game, should St. Louis not win the division. Milwaukee seems likely to bullpen the Wild Card Game.
