"He wants to score runs and have a two-strike approach. He talked about when he swings and how he swings. That's good. That's stuff [pitchers] should take [seriously]," Desmond said.
Hitting and baserunning paid dividends for Scherzer on Friday night as the Nationals edged the Phillies, 2-1, at Nationals Park.
The score was deadlocked at 1 when Scherzer led off the sixth inning and singled to right field on a 1-2 pitch off right-hander Sean O'Sullivan.