Nationals' Max Scherzer leaves start vs. Mets after one inning with leg ailment

Tom Gatto

Nationals' Max Scherzer leaves start vs. Mets after one inning with leg ailment image

Nationals ace Max Scherzer left his start vs. the Mets on Wednesday night in Washington after one inning.

The right-hander told reporters (including from The Washington PostThe Athletic and MASN) after the game that he was dealing with a hamstring tweak that occurred Tuesday while he was running. Scherzer said that he suffered a similar tweak last week, also while running, prior to his start vs. the Blue Jays.

He listed himself as day to day, and he expects to take his next scheduled turn in the Nats' rotation.

MORE: Inside Mets OF Billy Hamilton's odd trip to D.C.

Scherzer allowed just a run in his outing, on a sacrifice fly by Dominic Smith, but his fastball was only in the 92-94 mph range. According to Fangraphs, his average fastball this season has been 94.8 mph.

Erick Fedde replaced Scherzer for the second inning after warming up in the bottom of the first. Prior to Wednesday, he had started twice this season for the Nats, allowing three earned runs in 7 1/3 innings. He gave up a run in three innings of long relief vs. New York, which won the game 3-1.

Washington was already down a starter with Stephen Strasburg nursing a nerve issue in his pitching hand. For now, it appears as if it will not also lose Scherzer.

This article has been updated.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.