WASHINGTON — Four hours to first pitch …
Game: Pirates (39-28) vs. Washington Nationals (35-33), 4:05 p.m., Nationals Park
Pitchers: LHP Francisco Liriano (4-5, 2.94) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (7-5, 1.93)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Media notes
Pregame notes 2:20 p.m.: Should the Pirates defeat the Nationals today, it would almost certainly qualify as one of their best wins of the season. In his first season with the Nationals, Scherzer has been nothing short of spectacular. He nearly produced a no-hitter against the Brewers in his last start, finishing with a one-hit shutout. He is third in Major League Baseball with a 1.93 ERA, trailing only Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke. Only Clayton Kershaw has produced more strikeouts among National League pitchers. While the Pirates sometimes will use a more aggressive approach against pitchers with outstanding control — Scherzer has issued 14 walks in 13 games — Clint Hurdle will take his chances. He wants to see the Pirates wait out Scherzer. “You can put an ‘L’ up. He’s got five of them, as dominating as he is,” Hurdle said. “We have to battle every pitch. It’s a fistfight. It’s a wrestling match. You’ve got to stretch him out and try to elevate that pitch count. Certain pitches, you must lay off. They show a glimpse of being in the zone but then they aren’t even close.” Laying off pitches out of the zone, particularly breaking balls, hasn’t been a strength for the Pirates in recent games. They struck out 13 times last night. … Hurdle shared some interesting insight regarding Jung Ho Kang: In essence, Hurdle would like to see Kang simplify his approach and shorten his swing. Kang is batting .625 when he puts the first pitch of an at-bat in play. However, he hasn’t been particularly good deeper in counts. Hurdle thinks he knows why: “His challenge will always be the leg kick versus the two-strike approach. The two-strike approach doesn’t always have to be used with two strikes. He’s still trying to get a feel for that. The swings that are complicated are the ones when he uses the leg kick. The leg kick basically is telling someone that you can hit their fastball. He’s going to learn, and he has learned. I don’t think he’s comfortable sacrificing power yet.”… Neil Walker, battling a stomach illness, again isn’t in the lineup. He was feeling better after Friday’s game and said he’d likely be OK for Saturday. However, the Pirates are not taking batting practice, and Hurdle isn’t yet certain if Walker is comfortable enough to start. There is a strong chance he will be available off the bench. … Gregory Polanco will start in right field after leaving in the seventh inning last night with knee soreness. Polanco also had the wind knocked out of him on the play. … Speaking of right fielders, the Nationals’ superstar, Bryce Harper, will play after missing Friday night’s game with a strained hamstring. … Hurdle joked that, just because this pitching matchup is a dandy, a 1-0 or 2-1 game isn’t guaranteed. “This is the beauty of the game,” he said. “Look at the lineup they were able to post last night. They didn’t have (Ian) Desmond or Harper, and they had 14 hits off (A.J.) Burnett. Everyone had that penciled in, right? We think we know so much about the game. And then the game gets in the way and says, ‘Not so fast.’ ”
6:03: Scherzer has entered the Pirates’ eighth with a perfect game and a 6-0 lead.
6:11: And a 1-2-3 eighth puts Scherzer in position for Major League Baseball’s 24th perfect game — and the first ever involving the Pirates — in the ninth. The eighth concluded with a Pedro Alvarez bouncer well into right field, but he was thrown out at first. The Pirates have been no-hit eight times in franchise history.
6:20: Polanco fouls out to open the ninth.
6:21: Jordy Mercer flies out to center. Jose Tabata next.
6:25: Scherzer loses the perfect game by hitting Tabata with two outs and a 2-2 count.
6:27: Josh Harrison flies out to left. No-hitter.
Max Scherzer celebrates his no-hitter vs. Pirates Saturday night. -- GETTY
June 20, 2015
Final: Nationals 6, Pirates 0, Scherzer no-hitter
by Josh Yohe • Game previews
WASHINGTON — Four hours to first pitch …
Game: Pirates (39-28) vs. Washington Nationals (35-33), 4:05 p.m., Nationals Park
Pitchers: LHP Francisco Liriano (4-5, 2.94) vs. RHP Max Scherzer (7-5, 1.93)
TV, radio: Root Sports, 93.7 The Fan
Online: Gameday / Multimedia / Media notes
Pregame notes 2:20 p.m.: Should the Pirates defeat the Nationals today, it would almost certainly qualify as one of their best wins of the season. In his first season with the Nationals, Scherzer has been nothing short of spectacular. He nearly produced a no-hitter against the Brewers in his last start, finishing with a one-hit shutout. He is third in Major League Baseball with a 1.93 ERA, trailing only Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke. Only Clayton Kershaw has produced more strikeouts among National League pitchers. While the Pirates sometimes will use a more aggressive approach against pitchers with outstanding control — Scherzer has issued 14 walks in 13 games — Clint Hurdle will take his chances. He wants to see the Pirates wait out Scherzer. “You can put an ‘L’ up. He’s got five of them, as dominating as he is,” Hurdle said. “We have to battle every pitch. It’s a fistfight. It’s a wrestling match. You’ve got to stretch him out and try to elevate that pitch count. Certain pitches, you must lay off. They show a glimpse of being in the zone but then they aren’t even close.” Laying off pitches out of the zone, particularly breaking balls, hasn’t been a strength for the Pirates in recent games. They struck out 13 times last night. … Hurdle shared some interesting insight regarding Jung Ho Kang: In essence, Hurdle would like to see Kang simplify his approach and shorten his swing. Kang is batting .625 when he puts the first pitch of an at-bat in play. However, he hasn’t been particularly good deeper in counts. Hurdle thinks he knows why: “His challenge will always be the leg kick versus the two-strike approach. The two-strike approach doesn’t always have to be used with two strikes. He’s still trying to get a feel for that. The swings that are complicated are the ones when he uses the leg kick. The leg kick basically is telling someone that you can hit their fastball. He’s going to learn, and he has learned. I don’t think he’s comfortable sacrificing power yet.”… Neil Walker, battling a stomach illness, again isn’t in the lineup. He was feeling better after Friday’s game and said he’d likely be OK for Saturday. However, the Pirates are not taking batting practice, and Hurdle isn’t yet certain if Walker is comfortable enough to start. There is a strong chance he will be available off the bench. … Gregory Polanco will start in right field after leaving in the seventh inning last night with knee soreness. Polanco also had the wind knocked out of him on the play. … Speaking of right fielders, the Nationals’ superstar, Bryce Harper, will play after missing Friday night’s game with a strained hamstring. … Hurdle joked that, just because this pitching matchup is a dandy, a 1-0 or 2-1 game isn’t guaranteed. “This is the beauty of the game,” he said. “Look at the lineup they were able to post last night. They didn’t have (Ian) Desmond or Harper, and they had 14 hits off (A.J.) Burnett. Everyone had that penciled in, right? We think we know so much about the game. And then the game gets in the way and says, ‘Not so fast.’ ”
6:03: Scherzer has entered the Pirates’ eighth with a perfect game and a 6-0 lead.
6:11: And a 1-2-3 eighth puts Scherzer in position for Major League Baseball’s 24th perfect game — and the first ever involving the Pirates — in the ninth. The eighth concluded with a Pedro Alvarez bouncer well into right field, but he was thrown out at first. The Pirates have been no-hit eight times in franchise history.
6:20: Polanco fouls out to open the ninth.
6:21: Jordy Mercer flies out to center. Jose Tabata next.
6:25: Scherzer loses the perfect game by hitting Tabata with two outs and a 2-2 count.
6:27: Josh Harrison flies out to left. No-hitter.