Max Scherzer strikes out 10 with broken nose in shutout win over Phillies
On Tuesday, Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer broke his nose when a ball bounced off his bat and hit him in the face while he was practicing bunting.
We learned later that Scherzer, who was scheduled to start Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies, had broken his nose.
The team announced that a CT scan came up negative, but surely Scherzer was going to miss at least a start with the face injury, right?
Wrong.
Scherzer ‘very adamant’ about starting
Manager Dave Martinez told reporters that Scherzer was “very adamant” about pitching Wednesday during the nightcap of a double-header against the Phillies.
Pitch he did, as he took the mound as the Nationals starter.
He’s not a player who normally wears eyeblack. But if he was, he was already covered under his right eye.
That’s a shiner
LETS GO!!!!! pic.twitter.com/PZEfDffNDz
— F.P. Santangelo (@FightinHydrant) June 19, 2019
If anything, the fastball hurler took the mound with an extra intimidation factor.
Somehow, Max Scherzer is even more intimidating now. pic.twitter.com/Y5C6S1LI3h
— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 19, 2019
He appeared to have a little extra heat than normal to start the game.
Max Scherzer average fastball velocity this season: 94.8 mph
Max Scherzer average fastball velocity this inning: 96.5 mph
Max is fired up.— Sam Fortier (@Sam4TR) June 19, 2019
He also had some support in the stands.
When you nose, you nose. pic.twitter.com/bG6ITBClsZ
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) June 20, 2019
Scherzer spins a gem
Scherzer didn’t appear any worse for wear, striking out 10 Phillies batters over seven innings of a 2-0 win.
It sounds like Martinez made the right call putting his banged-up ace on the mound.
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