WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals will likely battle the Atlanta Braves without their ace.
Following Washington’s 11-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, manager Davey Martinez confirmed that Max Scherzer was not able to throw a bullpen session and will probably miss his next scheduled start against the first-place Braves.
“I’m very doubtful that he’ll make his start on Tuesday,” Martinez said of Scherzer. “We’ll feel out what happens with him tomorrow. He said he felt better today. He was able to do some stuff. But we’ll figure that out tomorrow.”
Scherzer has been dealing with back pain since his June 30 outing against the Detroit Tigers. He made his next start against the Kansas City Royals, working seven shutout innings, but then opted to skip the All-Star Game as a precautionary measure. The weekend after the Midsummer Classic, the Nationals placed their ace on the injured list, retroactive to July 10.
Scherzer returned Thursday against the Colorado Rockies, allowing three runs in five innings. The following day, an MRI revealed that he had a strained rhomboid muscle. The three-time Cy Young Award winner received a stem cell shot later that day and was hopeful that he would be able to make his start Tuesday, during a key three-game series against National League East rival Atlanta.
Scherzer, who turned 35 over the weekend, was scheduled to do some cardio work Sunday, but has not thrown at all since his most recent outing. If the veteran pitcher is unable to take the mound Tuesday, young right-hander Erick Fedde would be the most logical replacement. Fedde was optioned to the minors Wednesday and, by rule, would have to spend at least 10 days before returning to the majors. However, if the Nationals were to place Scherzer on another player on the injured list, they would be allowed to recall Fedde inside the 10-day window.
In 20 starts this season, Scherzer is 9-5 with a 2.41 ERA and an National League-best 189 strikeouts. Before hitting the injured list earlier this month, he was named NL Pitcher of the Month for June after going 6-0 with a 1.00 ERA.
Entering Monday’s action, the Nationals were in second place in the NL East, 5½ games behind the Braves.