Scherzer, Nats look to shut down Orioles' big bats (May 09, 2017)
BALTIMORE -- Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer faces the daunting task of quieting the Baltimore Orioles' bats in the finale of a two-game series Tuesday night at Camden Yards.
After the contest, the teams will travel about 40 miles south to play another two games at Nationals Park.
Baltimore clobbered three homers in a 6-4 victory in the opener. Scherzer (4-2, 2.66 ERA) has allowed five homers over his six starts this year, but the damage has been minimal.
The Nationals, however, also have a tough lineup, and Orioles manager Buck Showalter knows his pitchers must be wary of Washington's firepower.
"On paper, that's probably the best offensive team we play," Showalter said. "They are operating on all cylinders offensively."
Scherzer has some success against the Orioles. In nine career starts vs. Baltimore, he is 5-2 with 74 strikeouts, 11 walks and a 3.32 ERA. In his most recent outing, Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Scherzer allowed just one run over seven innings while striking out 11. He has not been bothered by the home runs.
"Look, if I give up solo home runs, so what? Bring them on," Scherzer said.
Meanwhile, Washington manager Dusty Baker is navigating interleague play for the first time this season. He dismissed the notion the designated hitter in Baltimore would provide his bullpen with some added rest. Adam Lind went 1-for-4 as the DH in the series opener, and Jayson Werth is expected to get his opportunity in that role Tuesday.
"You don't have to double-switch with your bullpen, but when you're playing the American League, it's going to add pressure to your bullpen," Baker said. "It's such an offensive league, and this is an offensive park. I hope our team does well in interleague play. Those games count on your season and then how you do postseason. I really do stress the importance of trying to be the best in interleague play."
Washington first baseman Ryan Zimmerman leads the National League in batting average (.420), home runs (13) and RBIs (34), even after going 0-for-4 on Monday. If he somehow maintains that pace, Zimmerman would be the first NL player to win the Triple Crown since Joe Medwick accomplished the feat in 1937 for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Bryce Harper was back in the lineup Monday against Baltimore after missing the previous three games with a groin injury. He went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs.
"He'll start rolling again from here," Baker said.
The Orioles' starter Tuesday will be right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, who is trying to keep his spot in the rotation. Jimenez (1-1, 6.58 ERA) was roughed up in his last start, April 29 against the Yankees, when he allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings. He pitched three scoreless innings out of the bullpen May 3 against the Boston Red Sox after starter Kevin Gausman was ejected after hitting Xander Bogaerts with a 77 mph curveball.
The series is also a homecoming for Nationals catcher Matt Wieters, who spent eight years in Baltimore. Now that he has been on both sides, he can see a rivalry building between the two franchises.
"When both teams are competitive, there's going to be a rivalry no matter where you are," Wieters said. "When you have proximity of how close we are and both being on the same network, there's definitely a little bit of bragging rights that come out of this series. At the same time, it can be a friendly competition to where both teams want to win, but both also teams have bigger goals in mind, like being well-suited for a long playoff run."
