Game 107: Blue Jays at Nats
Max Scherzer returns to the mound at Nationals Park tonight, and Connelly Early joins his new teammates in the wake of this weekend's trade
It’s late-July, the Nationals are in a pennant race and Max Scherzer is taking the mound here tonight. And yes, this is all happening in 2026.
We’ve got quite the intriguing matchup on South Capitol Street this evening, with the Nats looking to keep themselves in the thick of the NL wild-card race while going up against the greatest pitcher in club history, who at this point is just hoping to prove he can still be healthy and successful at this level.
Scherzer makes his return tonight from his ninth stint on the injured list since the Nationals traded him five years ago. This time, it was back spasms. He’s already dealt with forearm tendinitis and ankle inflammation this season. He’s made only six starts for Toronto this year, going 1-4 with a 10.23 ERA. But tonight he makes his 100th career start at Nationals Park, and if he strikes out six batters, he’ll tie Walter Johnson for 10th place in MLB history. Yeah, that would be pretty cool to witness.
The Nats are going with an opener tonight, and in a rare case, they’re going with a right-handed opener. It’ll be Eddy Yean to pitch at least the top of the first (and possibly more) against a Blue Jays lineup that is heavy with right-handed hitters (Ernie Clement, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Kazuma Okamoto). At some point, left-hander Andrew Alvarez will take over and provide bulk relief before Blake Butera figures out how he wants to handle the late innings.
Speaking of the bullpen, the Nationals made a switch today. Matt Krook was designated for assignment following Sunday’s disastrous top of the ninth. Paxton Schultz returns from Triple-A Rochester to take his place.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Partly cloudy, 84 degrees, wind 7 mph out to center
BLUE JAYS
SS Ernie Clement
RF Nathan Lukes
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
DH George Springer
C Alejandro Kirk
3B Kazuma Okamoto
CF Daulton Varsho
2B Luis Urias
LF Myles Straw
RHP Max Scherzer
NATIONALS
RF James Wood
1B Luis García Jr.
DH José Tena
SS CJ Abrams
CF Dylan Crews
LF Daylen Lile
C Keibert Ruiz
3B Jorbit Vivas
2B Nasim Nuñez
RHP Eddy Yean
EARLY ARRIVAL IN D.C.
Connelly Early made his first appearance at Nationals Park this afternoon, the newly acquired left-hander meeting teammates and coaches and throwing a bullpen session as part of his rehab program from an elbow injury.
The 24-year-old, acquired late Saturday night from the Red Sox for infielder Curtis Mead, admitted an initial sense of shock when Boston team president Craig Breslow called him with the news. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since then, packing up all his belongings and making it down to D.C., but he’s embracing this new opportunity pitching for an up-and-coming club run by the same guy who drafted him out of Virginia in 2023: current Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni.
“Obviously, a little bit emotional coming up with that team,” Early said. “But then I know T-Bone pretty well, and he called me after that. I’m just super-excited to get here and have a couple of familiar faces.”
Early is also looking forward to pitching closer to his hometown of Midlothian, Va., just outside Richmond. Though he grew up as a Reds fan, he did come to Nationals Park several times as a kid and also has family in Ashburn who will now be able to see him pitch regularly in person. He actually played against James Wood a couple of times as a pre-teen in travel ball tournaments.
The Nats acquired Early because of the fact he’s under club control through 2031 and has already established himself as a successful MLB starter. But they also believe he can make a positive difference down the stretch of this surprise pennant race. On the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation since a June 30 start against them at Fenway Park, Early said his mind was put at ease when an examination by noted orthopedist Keith Meister showed no structural damage.
“I wasn’t too concerned about it,” he said, using the term “discomfort” to describe what he felt pitching that night last month. “Obviously, I went and got one guy who does a bunch of elbow surgeries to look at it. I feel like if he says it’s pretty good, then it’s probably in a pretty good spot.”
Early threw off a bullpen mound this afternoon, the second time he’s done that in the last week. He’s on target to make a rehab start for one of the Nationals’ minor-league affiliates on or around Aug. 3, and Toboni suggested he could be ready to join the rotation roughly two weeks after that.
“It seems to be trending in a good direction,” manager Blake Butera said. “But I also told him: ‘I know you’re excited to get on the mound and pitch for us, but we’re also going to be responsible with this. Just take it day-by-day.’”