In this edition of the 20th anniversary series, I will recount Max Scherzer’s 20 strikeout performance against his former team
Max Scherzer is my favorite Washington National of all time. As a pitcher growing up, I admired him so much. Between his dominant stuff and dynamic mound presence, I wanted to be like Max. He had the eye of the tiger every time he took the mound. You knew you had the chance to see something you had never seen before every fifth day.
On May 11th, 2016 he delivered one of those special performances. Scherzer tied the MLB record by striking out 20 batters. Nobody has reached that mark since Max did it and it could be a while until we see it again. Striking out 20 batters requires dominance and the ability to work deep into the game. Few combine those two things better than Max.
Going into the game, this start was highly anticipated. He was going up against his former team, the Detroit Tigers. It was also a homecoming for the Tigers starter. Longtime Nationals stalwart Jordan Zimmermann was coming home to face his old team.
Zimmermann had joined the Tigers that offseason on a 5-year $110 million deal. They were effectively replacing Scherzer a year later. While the Zimmermann contract would turn into a disaster, things were looking good for Detroit at the time. The right hander had a dominant April where he posted a 0.55 ERA and went 5-0.
However, this day was about Mad Max. Scherzer cruised through the first two innings, striking out five and allowing 1 hit. Then in the third inning, Scherzer gave up a solo home run to Jose Iglesias. The solo shot was Scherzer’s only achilles heel in his Nationals tenure.
However, he bounced back by striking out the side. At that point he had 8 strikeouts through three innings. It was dominant, but fans weren’t quite thinking about 20 punch outs yet. After only one strikeout in the fourth, it felt like the kind of start where Max would go 7 innings and strikeout 13 or 14. A career day for most, but pretty par for the course for Max.
The game also remained tied at one, so fans were still more worried about winning the game than anything else. Scherzer cruised through the fifth, retiring the side in order with two strikeouts.
This was not just any lineup he was facing either. That Tigers lineup featured names like Miguel Cabrera, JD Martinez, Victor Martinez, Justin Upton and Ian Kinsler. A few of those guys were towards the end of their primes in 2016, but all were still very productive players. Scherzer had those guys swinging at air, other than Victor Martinez who had three hits and was the only guy in the lineup not to strikeout.
Scherzer continued to pile up the punch outs. He struck out two each in the sixth and seventh to take his total up to 15. The 20 strikeout mark was now in sight, but it was still unlikely.
The Nats also finally gave him some run support. After a Daniel Murphy RBI hit in the 6th, Danny Espinosa went deep in the 7th to give Scherzer some insurance. It also gave Dusty Baker some insurance to allow Max to chase history rather than go to the bullpen.
Mad Max went into overdrive, striking out the side and putting his total to a staggering 18. At this point, you knew something special was going on. Scherzer was stalking the mound like a mad man, even more than usual and hitters couldn’t touch him, even more so than usual. It was like watching a god among men.
In the ninth inning, Scherzer proved he was human, giving up a solo shot to JD Martinez. Now Nats fans minds went back to having to win the game. It was now 3-2, a one run ball game.
However, the chase for history was back on when he struck out Miguel Cabrera to make it 19. The roller coaster of emotions turned back into anxiety when Victor Martinez got his third hit. The tying run was on first and a third Tigers homer would turn a historic night into a loss.
Scherzer got a piece of history when he struck out the next batter Justin Upton on three pitchers. It was a weird feeling because Scherzer had tied the record but the game was still hanging in the balance. He also still had a chance at 21. The next batter was James McCann, a prime strikeout candidate who Scherzer had punched out the first three times he came up. However, 21 was not to be as McCann grounded out to end the game. Like his no-hitter against the Pirates, Scherzer did something historic yet somehow it left us wanting more.
Only Max Scherzer could strikeout 20 guys and leave us disappointed that he did not get 21. That is how good he was. Watching Max Scherzer was watching greatness and the pinnacle of competitive sports. May 11th, 2016 was one of those days where the depths of his greatness were on full display.