VIERA, Fla. — Nationals ace and likely opening day starter Max Scherzer threw off a mound, in a stadium, against live hitters Sunday afternoon. He threw 23 pitches, 14 of them strikes, all of them to his teammates. Ben Revere reached on an error. Trea Turner grounded into a force. Scherzer struck out Danny Espinosa and Clint Robinson. Then he left the game, his expected inning complete for the day.
“It’s honestly just to get out there and get some feel. It feels so awkward getting out there in a game situation. I haven’t done it in five, six months,” Scherzer said. “So the fact that I didn’t drill anybody is a big plus.”
Scherzer said he “has never really been a guy who paces himself,” and caught himself trying to throw as hard as he can at times. But for Scherzer, velocity is secondary now to “spinning the ball,” which amounts to getting the feel for his three breaking pitches, a slider, curve, and cutter.
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Joe Ross also started the game, and threw an inning in which he tossed a few more balls than strikes. A few runners reached against him, so he worked from the stretch. Ross, too, said results were not as important as the experience itself, getting back out there for the first time.
“We do our live BPs, but it’s different once … you’re actually in a game situation. They put the ball in play and you freeze because you haven’t done anything in a few days,” Ross said. “But I mean it was good to get out there. I didn’t feel like I was in that great of rhythm or anything like that, but to go throw, and get through one inning, I had to work with some runners on. I felt like it was a productive day, overall.”
Ross experienced major league camp with the Padres two seasons ago, but pitched with the minor leaguers last year. He threw 152 2/3 innings between Class AA, AAA and the majors last season, and will probably be on some innings limit — maybe around 180 — this season, though no one has specified exactly what that limit may be yet.
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“It’s all usually the same. You’re here a little earlier with the big-league camp, and we’ve been throwing a good amount, but as long as you pace yourself — once games start, we get more days off between outings, and it becomes more of a regular schedule as the season is about to start.”
Tanner Roark, Yusmeiro Petit, and several others also threw an inning each Sunday. Petit, whose curveball is known as a swing-and-miss machine, struck out the side. Young 40-man pitchers like Abel De Los Santos and Nick Lee looked strong. Trea Turner, who started at second base on Sunday, and Wilmer Difo each tripled off the center field wall. Wilson Ramos drove a ball into the left field corner to score a run. Reed Johnson had two hits. Rising top prospect Victor Robles got two at bats.
“I saw some pretty good defense. They guys’ legs seem like they’re in pretty good shape. You’re always concerned about hamstrings this time of year, so I think most of the guys came out pretty well,” Dusty Baker said.
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The Nationals don’t normally play intrasquad games before the Grapefruit League season, but Baker said he and Mike Maddux scheduled two this season, in part because they have so many decisions to make about pitchers. While he knows players take time to get in rhythm, and wants to give players a fair assessment, Baker admitted he must start evaluating players now.
“When else are you supposed to evaluate?” Baker said. “I try to look on a guy’s past, if he has one. I try to look at, like I’ve said, has he played winter ball? Is he ahead? You look at guys that are fastball hitters. I’ll tell you, one of the premier fastball hitters — I wasn’t shocked — is Reed Johnson. I know he’s gonna hit that fastball. I was over there calling pitches and said if he gets a fastball, he’s gonna whack it. He’s been doing it for 15 years.”
Baker said he looked at which pitchers were getting breaking balls over, which outfielders were getting good jumps, assessing all the while.
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“I urge these guys, whether it’s a B game, practice game, whatever it is, I’m analyzing all the time,” Baker said. “Especially when you don’t have a bunch of time and you don’t know guys. I’m analyzing when they’re practicing and running bases.”
Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon worked out separately. Dusty Baker said Saturday he wanted to protect his “big boys,” who instead took grounders and a few swings on another field Sunday morning. None of those players are scheduled to play in Monday’s intrasquad game either, according to the lineup cards posted Sunday morning.
Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez will start Monday’s intrasquad game. Turner is scheduled to start at shortstop for one team, with Stephen Drew starting there for the other. As they did Sunday, Wilson Ramos and Jose Lobaton are scheduled to be designated hitters.
● Major League Baseball’s Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre and longtime Tigers manager and MLB advisor Jim Leyland came to Space Coast Stadium Sunday to talk to Dusty Baker and his staff about rule changes. Baker said they went over various rules, including instant replay, and “the Darren Baker rule.”
“You gotta be 14. (Darren) is 17 now. I never thought he’d get here,” Baker said.
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