Rays fall to Max Scherzer and host Nationals 6-1

WASHINGTON — For one night in this dud of a season for Washington, the defending World Series champion Nationals looked like themselves — getting a solid start from Max Scherzer, timely hitting and crisp defense.

That they did it with recently signed utilityman Brock Holt batting third and banged-up catcher Kurt Suzuki as the cleanup hitter shows just how awry things have gone for the Nationals in 2020.

Suzuki had an RBI double among his three hits and Michael A. Taylor drove in two runs for the last-place Nationals, who were missing several regulars and started Holt at designated hitter for the sixth time in his career. Holt went 2-for-4 with a double and has nine hits over his past three…