Max Scherzer Throws Second No-Hitter of Season

Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals no-hit the New York Mets on Saturday in a masterful 17-strikeout performance in a 2-0 victory.

Scherzer tossed a perfect game through five until Kevin Plawecki reached base on an error in the sixth. He walked none and whiffed nine batters in a row at one point.

Boasting a single at the plate, Scherzer out-hit the entire opposing line-up. Wilson Ramos knocked in a run on a sixth-inning sacrifice fly and Dan Uggla homered in a pinch-hitting appearance to provide two runs to Scherzer, who, despite enjoying a 2.81 ERA, ends the season with a 13-12 record largely because of anemic run support.

Scherzer threw the seventh, and his second, no-no of the season. The ace held the Pittsburgh Pirates hitless in June. With both the Pirates and the Mets advancing to the postseason, and Washington ending their season tomorrow, Scherzer’s outings stand as two highlights in an otherwise frustrating season for the Washington Nationals.

In addition to Scherzer’s two gems, Jake Arrieta, Cole Hamels, Chris Heston, Hisashi Iwakuma, and Mike Fiers tossed no hitters this season. Just past the halfway point of the 2010s, MLB stands a mere three no-hitters away from breaking the decade record of 33 no-nos from the 1960s.