Washington Nationals star pitcher, Max Scherzer, was removed from his Tuesday start in the second inning due to neck soreness. On Wednesday, Scherzer reported that he would see a chiropractor later in the week to alleviate that pain.
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The Washington Nationals thought they had a very good chance of winning Tuesday against the Miami Marlins with their ace, Max Scherzer, taking the mound. Scherzer pitched a scoreless first inning and followed that up by hitting his first career home run in the top of the second inning. However, after the Nationals finished up their 6 run rout in the second inning, Scherzer was replaced on the mound by lefty reliever Matt Grace.
Scherzer told reporters on Tuesday that he tweaked his neck a couple days ago after sleeping on it wrong. He then said he chose to leave the game for precautionary reasons and that it was a familiar feeling. Scherzer also stated on Wednesday that he would see a chiropractor to help the quicken the recovery process.
“I’ve had this pop up before,” Scherzer said Tuesday. “Use different pillows sometimes, it can just put a crick in your neck. And that’s what happened. You do anything you can before a game to try to loosen it up. Went out there and warmed up OK, at least to start up the game. Kind of hurt myself turning left. First inning I could tell I wasn’t right. Hard for me to pick up the target.”
The Nationals went on to lose Tuesday to the Miami Marlins despite Scherzer and company giving the team an early 6-0 lead. The Marlins scored one run in the third inning, two in the fourth, and four in the fifth that ultimately gave them a 7-6 victory.
Scherzer and the Washington Nationals expect him to make his next start without issue. According to Craig Calcatarra at Hardball Talk, Scherzer called the injury a “day-to-day” issue and nothing to worry about.
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Scherzer and the Nats are set to face-off against the Miami Marlins again when his turn in the rotation comes back around. In the meantime though, the Nationals and the Cubs will have a 3-game series this weekend.