Max Scherzer notched his first career stolen base thanks to a giant lead
So, you can't blame the Braves for not keeping a close eye on the Nationals' ace standing at first base Monday night. But, maybe they should have kept tabs on him all the same:
We'd say the element of surprise was definitely working in Scherzer's favor:
How did Max Scherzer's steal second base just now?
— Andrew Simon (@AndrewSimonMLB) April 10, 2018
A 33.6 ft secondary lead certainly helps. That's huge. Avg. on a steal of 2B is ~20 ft.
Manager Dave Martinez said Scherzer had been itching to steal a base for some time. "We've talked about it for a week now," he said. "[I] said ... please, don't get hurt sliding," Martinez continued. "He said 'I've got the best pop-up slide in baseball.' And he showed it."
Scherzer confirmed his eagerness to steal a base. "Finally! I've been yelling at Matt Williams and I've been yelling at Dusty Baker, like, 'Let me go," he said. "There's obviously situations where I feel like I'm fast enough."
In addition to his work on the basepaths, Scherzer was dealing on the mound in the 2-0 Nationals win. He gave up only two hits in a 10-strikeout complete game. With the performance, Scherzer became the first pitcher to pitch a complete game shutout with 10 or more strikeouts and a stolen base since Nolan Ryan did it on May 16, 1984.
Congratulations to Scherzer on his first stolen base!