It's mid-July, the Nationals are stalled in the NL East standings, and now their two best starting pitchers are working through a dugout disagreement that was caught on video.
Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg exchanged words after Strasburg exited his start Friday against the Braves in the fifth inning. The men chose to continue their conversation in the tunnel, away from prying eyes.
Things got heated between Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer in the dugout. pic.twitter.com/2rT6HZ78ec
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 21, 2018
Strasburg had just allowed six runs over 4 2/3 innings in his first start off the disabled list. He declined to tell reporters after the game what exactly caused that scene or what the two said.
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"Part of family," Strasburg said, per Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post.
Scherzer did not speak to reporters.
Manager Dave Martinez met with his aces after the game, and then tried to spin it as best as he could.
Davey: "We had a really good conversation. I'll just say that. It was addressed. Look, they're very competitive. Everybody is. I'm glad we talked. It's over. Let's move forward. These guys are professionals. We're good. I'm good that we had the conversation."
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) July 21, 2018
He didn't do himself any favors by dropping this line, though:
Dave Martinez: “This stuff happens. I've been on teams where guys wanted to choke each other."
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgecastillo) July 21, 2018
Ahem . . .
— NatsFanatic (48-49) (@Lewis6Jay) July 21, 2018
Martinez wasn't around for that, so he just . . . well, yeah. Nats fans probably are saying, "Thanks for reminding everyone of that, Davey."
More important than Strasburg vs. Scherzer was the fact the Nats fell below .500 (48-49) after an 8-5 loss to Atlanta and dropped to 6 1/2 games behind the first-place Phillies in the East race.
