Max Scherzer Kicked Ass And Was Not Open To Suggestions

Max Scherzer was dominant last night, holding the Baltimore Orioles to just two runs in eight innings while striking out 11. He carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and he also made it clear that he didn’t want to put up with any bullshit from his coaches.

Scherzer received his first mound visit in the bottom of the seventh, when Nats pitching coach Mike Maddux went out for a discussion after Scherzer had gotten himself into a bit of a jam by putting men on second and third with two outs. Perhaps Maddux thought it might be wise to walk J.J. Hardy with first base open, and instead pitch to weak-hitting catcher Caleb Joseph. Whatever Maddux was suggesting, Scherzer wasn’t having it:

Scherzer then got Hardy to ground out to second, and escaped the inning with the score still tied 1-1.

Scherzer took the mound to start the bottom of the eighth with his team up 4-1, and served up a dinger to Adam Jones after recording the first two outs. With Manny Machado up and Scherzer perhaps tiring, Dusty Baker went to the mound to make a pitching change. Scherzer didn’t let that happen, as you can see in the GIF below that has been helpfully captioned by its creator:

Baker went back to the dugout, and Scherzer got Machado to foul out to end the inning. That was the end of Scherzer’s outing, and the Nats’ bullpen gave up the lead in the ninth inning. The Orioles went on to win with a walk-off single in the 12th inning.