Game #86 Max Scherzer in his usual spot; R.A. Dickey for the Braves

It just seems that Max Scherzer is the pitcher you need to turn fan unrest and distress into joy and happiness. The Nationals swung and missed on the 3 hour and 5 minute rain delay dilemma as well as turning a one-run game into a 3-run loss within minutes.

Max Scherzer’s value extends into his ability to almost divert the fans away from the on-going issues behind the scenes and concentrate on his performance. Scherzer approaches these games with surgical precision and a competitiveness that is unmatched. John Smoltz today said that if he had to choose from Chris Sale, Clayton Kershaw or Scherzer to start a key game he would choose Scherzer.

The Braves go once again with R.A. Dickey, the knuckleballer, as their starter. The Nationals have seen him plenty in the past.

Ryan Zimmerman, who has been scuffling since June 1st and batting only .269 in that span, has 3 of his 4 career home runs off of R.A. Dickey during this 2017 season. The timing couldn’t be better for Zimmerman who hasn’t hit a home run since June 13th.

As expected, the Nationals did sign their 1st round pick Seth Romero, a Boras client, to an above-slot signing bonus reported at $2.8 million against the slot value of $2,530,400. It appears Romero will immediately head down to the Nats facility at West Palm Beach.

Even though Mike Rizzo says that Seth Romero won’t be pitching in the Major Leagues this year like the Royals once did after they signed college pitcher Brandon Finnegan; it is fair to note that Romero is the first pick who will be bypassing an appearance in Nats Park as former 1st round picks in the past always have. Is this a fast track move to get Romero into a program in West Palm Beach sooner than later or just something new?

Romero finishes the Nats signing an overwhelming number of draft picks which totaled 33 of 40 their draft picks which includes every pick through the 14th round. The Nationals also signed 27 of their players in the international draft. In all, they will be adding those 60 players into the mix along with some minor league free agent signings.

In All-Star news, Gio Gonzalez was not added to the All-Star roster today as it was confirmed that it is Alex Wood of the Dodgers who will replace Clayton Kershaw on the All-Star roster as expected.


Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park,1500 S Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003
1st Pitch:  7:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN, WUSA9, FOX Sports SE, MLB.TV
Nats Radio: 106.7 FM The Fan; SiriusXM® XM 183 Sirius 216  (Internet 869)

Line-ups (subject to change without notice):

  1. Brian Goodwin CF
  2. Ryan Raburn LF
  3. Bryce Harper RF
  4. Ryan Zimmerman 1B
  5. Daniel Murphy 2B
  6. Anthony Rendon 3B
  7. Stephen Drew SS
  8. Matt Wieters C
  9. Max Scherzer RHP
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