Utility infielder Jordy Mercer had played in only 10 games for the Washington Nationals this season, often as a defensive replacement. But he took full advantage of a start in Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Miami Marlins, making a key play to preserve Max Scherzer’s chance for a complete game.
Scherzer dominated the Marlins from the outset, striking out nine batters and walking none, but his start could have been undone by some trouble in the eighth. Instead, Mercer made a play that kept the Marlins off the scoreboard long enough to allow Scherzer to go for his 12th career complete game and first since Sept.