Max Scherzer chasing elusive history in first start following no-hitter

Call it the understatement of the year, but Max Scherzer is on a roll. The Nationals ace pitcher, of course, is coming off back-to-back starts in which he threw a no-hitter against the Pirates, and a one-hit, 16 strikeout gem against the Brewers.

Over those two starts his line reads 18 innings, one hit, one walk, one hit batter, and 26 strikeouts. Yeah, he’s been good. So it seems like right now Scherzer is as capable as anyone of accomplishing a feat that’s only been done once in major-league history – throwing back-to-back no hitters.

That was done by Johnny Vander Meer with the 1938 Reds, and it hasn’t been done since. Scherzer gets his chance on Friday night when the Nationals begin a three-game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies. Again, given the way Scherzer has been pitching lately – and given the opponent – it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

 

But the New York Times suggests history is not on his side:

“A pitcher has thrown a one-hitter and a no-hitter consecutively three other times since 1914, according to Baseball-Reference.com. The results of those pitchers’ subsequent starts are not encouraging for Scherzer.

Against a diluted wartime league, Jim Tobin, a knuckleballer for the Boston Braves, followed a one-hitter with a no-hitter in April 1944. In his next start, against the Brooklyn Dodgers at a chilly Ebbets Field, he made it through only three innings, giving up four runs and seven hits.

The Hall of Famer Dazzy Vance of the Brooklyn Robins, as the Dodgers were then called, followed a one-hitter with a no-hitter in 1925. In his next start, in St. Louis, he gave up nine runs. ...

Howard Ehmke of the 1923 Red Sox threw his no-hitter before his one-hitter. But he fared little better in his next game, giving up six runs.”

One thing that is encouraging for Scherzer, however, is that aforementioned opponent on Friday, the dead-last-place Phillies. The Phillies are a major-league worst 26-48, they’ve scored the fewest runs in the majors with 244, and Scherzer has already faced them three times this season and dominated.

On April 12 Scherzer went six innings giving up one run on six hits. Five days later he faced them again and went eight innings, again giving up just one run on four hits with nine strikeouts. Then on May 22 he yet again went eight innings giving up one run on four hits. Safe to say he has their number.

It’s hard to throw a no-hitter, it’s really hard to throw two. It’s near impossible to do it in back-to-back starts. But if there’s one thing baseball is good for, it’s showing you something you’ve never seen before. So it might just be worth tuning in for a few innings on Friday to see what Scherzer can do.