Max Scherzer got two runs of support before he even took the mound last night in Citizens Bank Park, courtesy of RBI singles by Josh Bell and Yan Gomes, but he gave one back when he left a 1-2 cutter up and in to Bryce Harper that the one-time Washington National hit 431 feet to right for a solo shot in the first at bat of the Phillies’ second.
Scherzer held the Phillies there through three, and submitted himself to the new protocols MLB put in place that have umpires checking pitchers for foreign substances on pitcher’s hands, their gloves, their caps, and belts between innings, but while he was on the mound in the bottom of the fourth, Philadelphia’s manager Joe Girardi called upon the umpires to check for foreign substances again.