Max Scherzer throws no-hitter to beat Pirates

Max Scherzer threw the second no-hitter of the 2015 season on Saturday, leading the Washington Nationals to a 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park.

Scherzer retired the first 26 batters of the game but hit Jose Tabata with two outs in the ninth inning for his only runner allowed to reach base.

Scherzer struck out 10 and needed only 106 pitches to complete his masterpiece, and completed arguably the best two-start stretch in major league history.

In his last start, on Sunday in Milwaukee, Scherzer took a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Brewers, only to settle for a one-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts and just one walk in his nine innings.

The Pirates nearly broke up the no-hitter and perfect game with two outs in the eighth inning when Pedro Alvarez grounded a ball to the right side past a diving Ian Desmond, but second baseman Danny Espinosa was shifted into short right field and had enough time to throw out Alvarez at first base, drawing a celebratory first pump from Scherzer as he walked back to the dugout.

Let's see that perfect game-saving play again. pic.twitter.com/jocvolPOnj

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) June 20, 2015

Scherzer's gem was the second no-hitter of the season, joining rookie Chris Heston of the Giants, who no-hit the New York Mets on June 9. Both no-hitters have featured no hits and no walks. Heston hit three batters in his no-no.

After five years in Detroit, which included one American League Cy Young Award and five division titles with the Tigers, Scherzer has enjoyed his return to the National League so far after signing a $210 million contract with the Nationals in the offseason. Scherzer is 8-5 with a major-league-leading 1.76 ERA and 123 strikeouts, also tops in baseball.

Scherzer has six starts with double-digit strikeouts this season.

This is the second no-hitter in Nationals history, joining teammate Jordan Zimmermann, who beat the Miami Marlins 1-0 on the last day of the 2014 regular season. Counting the Montreal Expos years, this is the sixth no-hitter for the franchise. Dennis Martinez has the only perfect game for the franchise, retiring all 27 Los Angeles Dodgers on July 28, 1991.

★★★

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