Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer has Landed on IL with Back Strain
By James Barone
In order for the Washington Nationals to seriously continue competing for a playoff spot, Max Scherzer will have to return soon.
As the Washington Nationals go 29-11 in their last 40 games, they are back into contention in the National League playoff race. However, the team will need Max Scherzer back as quickly as possible from his 10 day IL to continue this push for the playoffs.
For now, the Nats remain first in the wild card seeding. Right behind them, however, are powerhouses of teams in the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Max Scherzer started to feel pain in his back much earlier than when he was put on the IL. Reporters say that Scherzer started to feel the straining start on July 7th, after a June 30th outing against the Detroit Tigers. Then, Scherzer started a July 6th ballgame against the Kansas City Royals and the pain continued.
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This injury forced Scherzer to miss the All-Star game where he would have pitched as apart of the National League team. But that is not too big of a loss for Scherzer because, through the All-Star break, he will continue to rest up his back. Scherzer was scheduled to pitch today against the Philadelphia Phillies. But, he will not be able to start as he is finishing out his last days on the IL.
Although this injury may concern members of the Nationals organization or their fans, Scherzer is not worried about this injury stating, “This is not something to be overly concerned about, I know the feeling of what it is going to take to get back on the mound and get completely through the ball. As I said, we’re only a matter of days. This isn’t a long term injury.
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The Washington Nationals will need Scherzer to come back healthy and start throwing just like he has been this whole year. Scherzer who is having another amazing season with a record of 9-5 pitching 19 games while leading the National League in strikeouts at 181.