Max Scherzer, the 2013 American League Cy Young Award winner and current ace of the Washington Nationals, threw his 2nd no-hitter of the season Saturday night.
The Nationals ace right-hander flirted with perfection against the New York Mets at Citi Field and ultimately only allowed a baserunner on an error while dominating the Mets in a 2-0 victory.
Scherzer’s previous no-hitter came against the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 20, in a game that saw Scherzer come within one pitch of a perfect game; he ended up hitting batter Jose Tabata with a pitch, ruining his his opportunity at perfection. Tonight, he was perfect through six innings only to see his bid for a perfect game end when third baseman Yunel Escobar committed a throwing error to first base.
It was the second time that the New York Mets, who have now lost five straight games, were no-hit this season. On June 10, they were no-hit by San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Chris Heston at Citi Field.
Max Scherzer recorded a career-high 17 strikeouts and his second no-hitter of the season Saturday night on his way to becoming the first pitcher since Nolan Ryan in 1973 to throw two no-hitters in the same regular season. Scherzer is only the sixth pitcher in major-league history to throw two no-hitters in the same season.
Max Scherzer was extremely dominant against a New York Mets team that is struggling heading into the playoffs. Before a Curtis Granderson pop-up to third baseman Yunel Escobar for the final out, Scherzer recorded a string of nine consecutive strikeouts. The Washington Nationals might not be playing post-season baseball this year, but at least they can celebrate a performance of a lifetime tonight.
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