Scherzer piling up strikeouts again (Nationals win 4-0)

Max Scherzer strikes out a lot of batters but gives up lots of homers. The Orioles lineup strikes out a lot but hits a lot of homers.

Which makes for an intriguing matchup tonight in the finale of the Beltway Series at Nationals Park. One that so far is being dominated by Scherzer.

The Nationals ace has retired the first nine Baltimore batters he's faced, striking out six of them. He's done this on a scant 35 pitches.

As is so often the case, Scherzer offers up ample evidence early what kind of performance he's likely to have on any given night. And the early returns suggest he's got his good stuff tonight.

Scherzer retired the side in the top of the first on 13 pitches, striking out both Steve Pearce and Manny Machado. Leadoff man Adam Jones did drive a ball to the warning track in center field, but Trea Turner tracked it down with relative ease.

Scherzer again retired the side in the top of the second, again striking out a pair (Mark Trumbo and Jonathan Schoop) while also getting Chris Davis to fly out to left. He needed only nine pitches to complete that frame.

With two more strikeouts (Matt Wieters and J.J. Hardy) in the top of the third, Scherzer raised his total to six. Opposing pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez did manage to make contact, but he sent a weak fly ball down the right field line that was caught by Bryce Harper to end the inning.

The Nationals haven't done much against Jimenez, either. Anthony Rendon's second-inning single to center is the lone blemish so far for the erratic Orioles right-hander.

Update: Scherzer's perfect game is no more, but he and the Nats have taken a 1-0 lead after four innings. Jones led off the top of the inning with a double down the left field line. Scherzer, though, battled back and stranded Jones at third base by striking out Machado and getting Chris Davis to ground out. Then Jayson Werth led off the bottom of the fourth by ambushing Jimenez's first-pitch fastball and demolishing it straight to center field, off the back wall behind the fence. That was a 436-foot blast, according to Statcast, and it has given the Nationals a 1-0 lead.

Update II: And it's still 1-0 Nats after seven innings, with Scherzer cruising. He's thrown 76 pitches, allowing only Jones' double and nothing else. Zero walks. Eight strikeouts. But the margin for error the rest of the way is razor-thin.

Update III: That's your ballgame. Nats win 4-0 after scoring three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth (via Daniel Murphy's RBI single and Bryce Harper's two-run double). Scherzer got out of a jam in the eighth and finished with 95 pitches, having allowed only two hits and zero walks while striking out 10. Mark Melancon pitched the ninth to finish it off and help the Nats avoid a series sweep.