There may not be a lot of balls put in play when the Washington Nationals host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday in the second contest in the four-game set.
The starting pitchers are slated to be three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (4-5, 2.83 ERA) of the Nationals against Arizona lefty Robbie Ray (5-3, 3.54), who was drafted by Washington out of a Tennessee high school in the 12th round.
Scherzer, in his last start, beat the Padres in San Diego even though he was hit by a batted ball that traveled more than 100 mph off the bat of Josh Naylor.
“I’ve been hit in the calf before,” he told reporters after that game. “I know it sucks. You’ve just got to see if it tightens up on you. We have some ways to kind of treat it in between innings, just try to compress it and keep it from getting worse. I felt like I could go back out there and pitch and still get through it.”
Scherzer has thrown 92 1/3 innings and has fanned 126 batters.
Scherzer is 6-0 with a 2.89 ERA in six starts against Arizona — the team that drafted him out of the University of Missouri in 2006.
Adam Jones of Arizona is 13-for-35 (.371) with four homers off Scherzer.
Meanwhile, Ray was drafted by the Nationals in 2010. He has pitched 76 1/3 innings this year and has 101 strikeouts.
In his previous start, he fanned 10 batters in a win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He became the first Arizona pitcher since Randy Johnson to fan at least 10 batters in three straight games against American League foes.
“He was really good,” Arizona manager Tony Lovullo told reporters.
But he has struggled against the team he signed with: Ray is 0-4, 6.26 in five career starts against Washington.
The lefty also pitched well earlier this month the Dodgers.
“I felt really good tonight,” Ray told reporters after that game. “I felt like my command was the best it has been this all year. I was padding the zone, keeping them off balance with my off-speed.”
In the first game of the series Thursday, the D-backs jumped on Washington starter Erick Fedde for two runs in the first inning as Adam Jones and Eduardo Escobar had RBIs.
That was more than enough for Zack Greinke, who did not give up a hit until Trea Turner reached on an infield single to start the last of the seventh. Adam Eaton followed with a clean single to left — the only two hits off Greinke.
After a rain delay, two relievers finished up for Arizona in a 5-0 win. It was the second shutout in a row for Arizona, which won 2-0 at Philadelphia on Wednesday. It was the 12th time in team history Arizona had back-to-back shutouts and just the fourth time on the road.
Arizona is now 23-17 on the road, tied for the second-best mark in team history for the first 40 games.
It was the 16th time a pitcher for Arizona threw at least six no-hit innings. The D-backs’ pitching staff has gone 20 innings in a row without allowing a run going into Friday.
