WASHINGTON -- Something didn't look right from the start Wednesday night when Max Scherzer took the mound.
He walked Mets leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo on five pitches. Seven of his first eight pitches were balls. All told, he needed 27 pitches -- just 14 were strikes -- to make it through the first inning against the Mets.
His velocity was also down in the 92-94-mph range.
After the inning was over, Erick Fedde began to throw in the Nationals bullpen. Scherzer stood in the dugout with his hands on hips and talking to athletic trainers. Fedde came in to start the top of the second.
Scherzer made 27 starts last season, five fewer than normal, because of neck and back problems which put him on the injured list. He said at spring training he thought he figured out the reason for the problems.
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Injuries have been pervasive this season since Major League Baseball resumed July 23. That includes fellow Nationals starter Stephen Strasburg, who has missed his first two starts of the season while dealing with a nerve issue in his right hand. Strasburg threw a simulated game on Wednesday.
Scherzer was 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA in two starts in 2020 coming into the game.
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Max Scherzer leaves start against Mets after one inning originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
