Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: Maxterpiece

What would Max Scherzer do for an encore after striking out 16 Brewers in last week’s one-hit shutout?

A perfect game was there for the taking Saturday against the Pirates. All Jose Tabata had to do was move out of the way.

Instead, Max Scherzer finished inches away from what would have been the 24th perfect game in major league history. Tabata absorbed an 86 mph slider on the 103rd pitch of Scherzer’s outing. The hit-by-pitch ended a string of 26 batters retired in a row. One at-bat later, Josh Harrison flied out to preserve the no-hitter.

Tabata has played spoiler before. He broke up Andrew Cashner’s perfect game with a seventh-inning single on September 16, 2013. Tabata was Pittsburgh’s only base-runner that game.

After the game, Jordan Zimmermann, the last National to throw a no-hitter, greeted Scherzer by dumping a bottle of chocolate syrup on his head. Scherzer started this odd trend in April when he poured Hershey’s syrup on Dan Uggla after a game-winning home run. The Nationals have increased their chocolate budget dramatically since then. No less than six Hershey’s bottles were used to douse Scherzer on Saturday.

Scherzer now occupies a rare space in history. The 2013 Cy Young winner became the 13th pitcher to lose a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning. He’s also the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter while allowing only a hit-by-pitch since Kevin Brown in 1997. Before Scherzer did it Saturday, the last pitcher to lose a perfect game with two outs in the ninth on a hit-by-pitch was Hooks Wiltse in 1908.

This has been an unreal stretch for Scherzer. Over his last two games, he’s retired 54 of 57 batters while allowing just one hit. He’s even held his own offensively. Scherzer’s five-game hitting streak is the longest by a pitcher since 2012. It’s the longest by a Nats pitcher since Livan Hernandez in 2005. That was Washington’s first year of existence.

Saturday marked Bryce Harper’s return to the lineup after missing Friday’s game with a hamstring injury. He picked up right where he left off, homering in the fourth and then making Francisco Liriano pay for not intentionally walking him with an RBI single in the sixth. A whopping 10 of Harper’s career-high 23 home runs have come with Scherzer on the mound.

Scherzer’s first career no-no wouldn’t have been possible without Danny Espinosa. The second baseman robbed Pedro Alvarez of a base hit to end the eighth inning. Espinosa wasn’t even supposed to play on Saturday. Yunel Escobar was scratched just before the game because of a stomach illness.

Temperatures sat in the low 90s for most of the afternoon. Scherzer said after the game that he changed his jersey almost every inning because he was sweating so much.

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Nicolino Shines in Debut

Add Justin Nicolino’s name to the growing list of prospects taking the major leagues by storm. The Marlins left-hander was brilliant in his debut Saturday against the Reds, limiting Cincinnati to four hits over seven shutout innings. In doing so, he became the fourth Marlins pitcher to not allow a run in his first start. Josh Beckett, Anibal Sanchez and Adalberto Mendez were the others to accomplish the feat. None of them lasted longer than six innings.

Saturday’s start must have been strange for Nicolino because he was pitching against his former teammate Anthony DeSclafani. Both were brought up in the Blue Jays’ system and eventually sent to the Marlins as part of the Jose Reyes trade. DeSclafani was dealt to Cincinnati in 2014.

Nicolino only managed two strikeouts Saturday but that’s never been a big part of his game. The left-hander is more of a finesse pitcher, relying on hitters to make weak contact instead of blowing them away with a plus fastball. It worked for him in the minor leagues. Before his call-up, the 23-year-old led Triple-A New Orleans with a 2.87 ERA in 13 starts.

Third baseman Derek Dietrich provided most of the offense, homering twice and driving in three runs. Saturday was Dietrich’s first multi-homer game in the major leagues. He’s the first Marlin other than Giancarlo Stanton to homer twice in a game since Garrett Jones did it on May 23, 2014.

Injuries Loom Large on Saturday

If you put all your eggs in the Pablo Sandoval basket, you may want to rethink that strategy. The Red Sox third baseman suffered a sprained ankle Saturday and could be looking at an extended absence. The timing couldn’t be worse for Sandoval’s fantasy owners. The 28-year-old was just starting to find his groove offensively. His average has shot up 31 points since June 7.

The injury happened when Sandoval made an ill-advised throw to first base on a grounder by Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain. The ball got away from first baseman Mike Napoli, allowing Alcides Escobar to score from third base.

On the same night Sandoval got hurt, Blake Swihart left with a sprained foot. With Ryan Hanigan already on the shelf with a broken hand, the Red Sox are down to one healthy catcher. That catcher happens to be Sandy Leon, owner of a .181 lifetime average.

Nori Aoki led off Saturday’s game against the Dodgers with a hit-by-pitch. He stayed in to run but eventually left with a bruised lower leg. The Giants leadoff man has been a reliable weapon for fantasy owners, contributing the sixth-highest average in the National League at .317. He’s also tied for ninth with 12 steals.

The night’s scariest injury belonged to Travis d’Arnaud. A.J. Pierzynski bulldozed d’Arnaud at home plate trying to tag up from third. Fortunately, d’Arnaud’s X-rays came back negative. The Mets catcher was diagnosed with a hyperextended left elbow and is listed as day-to-day. D’Arnaud narrowly avoided his second major injury of the season. He missed time earlier with a broken pinkie.

American League Quick Hits: Royals DH Kendrys Morales ripped a two-run shot Saturday against the Red Sox. It’s the third time he’s homered on his birthday … Lorenzo Cain hustled his way to a career-high three stolen bases. All of the steals came within the first three innings … Rick Porcello’s ERA rose to 5.61 after another meltdown Saturday. That’s the second-highest ERA in the American League … Mookie Betts stayed hot by leading off the game with a home run. The Yankees are now the only team in the majors without a leadoff home run this year … Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran homered from both sides of the plate. He’s done that 12 times in his career, one off the major league record shared by Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher … Saturday was Old Timers’ Day at Yankee Stadium. Willie Randolph and Mel Stottlemyre both received plaques in Monument Park … Dallas Keuchel allowed a season-high four walks on Saturday. All of them came in the second inning … George Springer has hit .444 during his career-long 13-game hitting streak … Jose Altuve was sidelined again on Saturday. He’s missed the last three games with hamstring discomfort … Nelson Cruz broke a 20-game homerless drought on Saturday. The Mariners DH had gone 83 plate appearances without a home run … The Mariners hired Edgar Martinez as their new hitting coach. Seattle’s .233 average is worst in the major leagues … Josh Hamilton has resumed full baseball activities and could begin a rehab assignment next week. He’s been sidelined with a strained hamstring … Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman made his first start of the season on Saturday. He held the Blue Jays to two runs and four hits in a five-inning no-decision … Byron Buxton is having a tough time adjusting to the big leagues. He’s managed just two hits in 22 at-bats since his call-up last week… The White Sox topped the Rangers Saturday to snap an eight-game losing streak. Chicago has the third-worst record in the American League at 29-38.

National League Quick Hits: Patrick Corbin pitched well in his second rehab start for Double-A Mobile (5 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 Ks). The Diamondbacks left-hander missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery … Jake Peavy (back) will keep his spot in the starting rotation when he returns from the disabled list. He’ll make his final rehab start Sunday for Triple-A Sacramento … The Mets paid homage to the Negro Leagues by wearing Brooklyn Royal Giants throwback jerseys on Saturday … Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan has played 130 games in a row. That’s the longest active streak in the major leagues … Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters Saturday that Joc Pederson is “probably the best center fielder I’ve been around every day.” Pederson responded by crushing his 18th home run … Nationals center fielder Denard Span has reached base in his first at-bat each of his last seven starts … Freddie Freeman missed another game on Saturday. The Braves first baseman has sat out the last three with a sprained wrist … Stephen Strasburg (trapezius) threw a pain-free bullpen session on Saturday. He began a rehab assignment with Double-A Harrisburg on Wednesday and should be back with the Nationals sometime next week … Devin Mesoraco will have season-ending hip surgery in New York on June 29. He expects to have a normal offseason.

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