The Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals are slated to start their 2017 National League Division Series on Friday night in our nation’s capital.
We don’t know who the Cubs will pitch in Game 1 and it was thought that the Nationals would throw ace Max Scherzer.
But that might have changed after Scherzer suffered a hamstring injury on Saturday night.
An MRI revealed that Scherzer “tweaked” his hamstring and now his availability for Game 1 might be in doubt. The ace hasn’t been officially ruled out of being the starter but this is pretty big.
Manager Dusty Baker said that the injury could affect the rotation come Friday.
“Probably,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker told reporters via CBS Chicago. “But he’s going to be fine. It’s just a matter of we got to determine when that is.”
The Nationals rotation has been fantastic all season long led by Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg. It’s a tough test for the Cubs no matter what, seemingly having to beat one of those pitchers at least twice to win the series.
But if Scherzer is indeed moved to Game 3 and has to pitch on the road, it might be some bad news for the Bears based on this stat:
If #Nats move Max Scherzer (hamstring) to Game 3, one positive to consider: He has 1.82 ERA on road this year, 3.25 at home. @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 2, 2017
Scherzer was 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA and .90 WHIP in the regular season, leading the Nationals rotation. He’s faced the Cubs one time this season, throwing 6 innings and allowing just 1 earned run getting the win.
Check back for more as both teams will announce their Game 1 starter this week.
2017 Chicago Cubs regular season highlights to get you pumped for NLDS
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