The cries of “Let’s go Nats” were replaced by “Let’s go Max” on Tuesday night at Nationals Park, where the hometown faithful came to be part of history.
With their team out of playoff contention, fans wanted to see ace pitcher Max Scherzer record a career-high 300th strikeout, and he delivered as the Nationals beat the last-place Marlins 9-4.
The milestone came in the top of the seventh as Scherzer fanned rookie Austin Dean, who had fouled off four pitches before whiffing on a slider of 85 miles-per-hour a few minutes after 9 p.