Tucker Barnhart eventually broke through and delivered a single with one out in the eighth inning, but with the Reds down 4-0, it hardly mattered.
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Max Scherzer has been one of the few bright spots for the Washington Nationals this season and Monday in a makeup game against the Cincinnati Reds, he tried to create another bright spot and take the spotlight off of some less-than-positive recent events.
“There weren’t a lot of great at-bats against (Scherzer), he just had that type of stuff”, manager Bryan Price said. “It was about as good I’ve seen him throw live”.
A solo home run by Wilson Ramos made it 3-0 against Finnegan in the fifth, which would prove to be his final inning.
Left fielder den Dekker had an RBI double and center fielder Michael A. Taylor (two hits) added an RBI single in the fourth to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead.
“At that point things weren’t really going our way all day, but you kind of try to battle through it and see what you can do to put a finish on him and see what happens”, Barnhart said.
Only one batter came close to a hit, Skip Schumaker – and he did so twice.
But Monday – when the Nationals beat the Reds, 5-1, in their final home game of their season – was not a normal day. The right-hander walked three, Cincinnati’s only baserunners one each in the first, third and seventh innings.
Scherzer, the 2013 AL Cy Young Award victor for Detroit, signed a $210 million contract with Washington this offseason.
Nationals: Open a three-game series at Atlanta on Tuesday.
The last pitcher to throw two no-hitters in the same regular season was Nolan Ryan with the Angels in 1973. He said he thought he was “getting some luck” and that “it had the makings” of a no-hitter.
Reds: Open a three-game series at home against the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.
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NOTES: The Nationals suspended RHP Jonathan Papelbon for four games on Monday after his altercation with outfielder teammate and MVP candidate Bryce Harper in the dugout in the eighth inning of a 12-5 loss Sunday to the Phillies at Nationals Park. They will then end the season at PNC Park, playing the Pirates, now the top N.L. Wild Card team.
