Benches clear in Scherzer's DC return as Mets beat Nats originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Nationals fans gave Max Scherzer a round of applause Friday night when he took the mound for his first start against his former team since being traded a little over eight months ago. He then rewarded them by leading the division-rival New York Mets to a 7-3 win over Washington.
Scherzer signed a three-year, $144 million deal with the Mets in free agency last winter to join Jacob deGrom atop their rotation. While deGrom was forced to miss the start of the season with a stress reaction in his right scapula, Scherzer made his regularly scheduled start in Game 2 of their opening series against the Nationals and didn’t disappoint.
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The right-hander allowed three runs over six innings on three hits and a walk with six strikeouts. He didn’t go unscathed, allowing the Nationals to manufacture a run in the second inning and serving up a two-run home run off the bat of first baseman Josh Bell in the fourth. Statcast estimated the ball traveled 443 feet, a no-doubter Scherzer knew was gone without even looking.
New York chased starter Josiah Gray, who the Nationals acquired in the trade that sent Scherzer to the Los Angeles Dodgers, from the game in the fifth. Manager Davey Martinez then called in veteran reliever Steve Cishek from the bullpen to make his first career appearance in a Nationals uniform.
Cishek promptly hit Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor in the face as he squared around to bunt on his second pitch, sending him to the dirt. Both benches cleared and Cishek had to be held back by catcher Keibert Ruiz. Ultimately, following some complaints from Mets manager Buck Showalter, Cishek was ejected by the umpires despite not receiving a formal warning. Lindor left the game but X-rays came back negative and he passed all concussion tests.
Lindor was the fourth Met to be hit by a pitch in the series, and the third to take a ball up and in. First baseman Pete Alonso exited Thursday night’s game with a bloody lip after Mason Thompson hit him in the shoulder with a fastball that deflected into the extended ear flap on his helmet. He reported no serious injuries and returned to the lineup Friday.
With the loss, the Nationals fell to 0-2 on the young season. Rookie Joan Adon will take the ball against Mets starter Chris Bassitt on Saturday before Erick Fedde and Carlos Carrasco go head to head in the series finale Sunday.
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