Nationals reinstate Max Scherzer for series opener vs. Phillies originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Nationals have reinstated Max Scherzer from the Injured List on the first-day eligible since he was pulled on it due to a pulled groin. Scherzer will start Tuesday night's series opener in Philadelphia.
Scherzer's last full start, which also came against the Phillies, was on June 4 a week before he was pulled in the top of the first inning against the Giants on June 11. Scherzer was confident on Sunday that he'd be ready to go for Tuesday's first of two road games against the Phillies, letting the media know that he was ready without breaking stride after his session at Nationals Park before Washington's 5-2 win against the Mets.
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"Forty-pitch bullpen, all good. See you Tuesday," Scherzer said.
The Nats also sent Kyle Finnegan to the 10-day IL with a hamstring strain, retroactive to Monday. Washington went 5-1 with Scherzer, 36, sidelined with his injury. Most notably was Paolo Espino's first major league win with five scoreless innings tossed in the Nats' 3-1 victory on Wednesday.
Scherzer is 5-4 with a 2.21 ERA in 13 starts and ranks in the top-10 league-wide in strikeouts per nine innings (third, 12.10), strikeout-to-walk ratio (tied-third, 6.93), opponents’ on-base percentage (fourth, .233), ERA (sixth, 2.21), strikeouts (tied-sixth, 104), and opponents’ batting average (seventh, .179). Stephen Strasburg, on the other hand, last threw a light catch last Wednesday as he recovers from his neck injury from June 1.
At 33-36, Washington sits five games behind the NL East division-leading Mets and four games behind the Phillies.
