The Morning Briefing: Max Scherzer Gets the Nod for Opening Day 2021

Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball headlines, news and the latest news coming out of Washington Nationals Spring Training for Monday, March 22, 2021

by Richard Wachtel

Updated March 22, 2021

Happy Monday Morning, Washington Nationals Fans. Thank you for starting the week with us.

Today's forecast West Palm Beach via the National Weather Service: Mostly sunny, with a high near 75. West wind 6 to 8 mph.

Upcoming Games:

3/23/2021 - Nationals @ St. Louis 1:05 pm EST
3/24/2021 - Nationals vs. Astros 6:05 pm EST
3/25/2021 - Nationals @ Marlins 6:05 pm EST
3/26/2021 - Nationals @ Mets 6:10 pm EST

Make sure to follow The Nats Report on Twitter for updates on the latest Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball during the day!

Countdown Clock:

Opening Day: 10 Days

Todays Top Story: Max Scherzer Gets the Nod for Opening Day 2021

Well, if there was any doubt, it can officially be laid to rest. After today’s Washington Nationals loss to the New York Mets, Manager Dave Martinez announced that Max Scherzer will be the 2021 Opening Day Starter for the Nationals. This will be the sixth opening day start for Scherzer out of his seven seasons with the Nationals. By appearing in six opening days, he ties Dennis Martinez for 2nd-most in Nationals/Expos franchise history Only pitcher with more: Steve Rogers, 9 Scherzer already had the most since the team moved to D.C. at 5.

Scherzer will pitch one more time during Spring Training this upcoming weekend before his Opening Day Start.

Talking about Spring Training....

Spring Training Game Results & Notes: Mets Win over the Nationals (6-2)

In a sneak preview of what Opening Night will look like, the Washington Nationals lost to the New York Mets 6-2. The lineups looked really similar to what we can expect on Opening Night at Nationals Park on April 1, 2021.

Max Scherzer was cruising along yesterday afternoon, until he ran into trouble in the fourth and fifth when he gave up a pair of homers (one to Michael Conforto, one to Francisco Lindor) and uncorked a run-scoring wild pitch, ultimately surrendering four runs in five innings. Jacob DeGrom, meanwhile, didn’t allow a run over 4 2/3 innings, striking out five as the Mets coasted to a 6-2 exhibition victory in West Palm Beach, Fla. No matter what the result was it looks like the New York Mets and Washington Nationals are going to be fun to watch this season and we can’t wait…

Additionally, Tanner Rainey made his Spring Training debut yesterday afternoon, which is a good sign that the Nationals reliever should be ready to open the season on the active roster. Rainey’s spring debut had been delayed by a muscle strain near his right collarbone. The right handed reliever only went a half an inning facing four batters, and giving up two runs on no hits, three walks and one strikeout.

Yadiel Hernandez continues to impress and might be a dark horse to make the Opening Day roster. So far this Spring Training, Hernandez is 5-8 with four singles, homer, one walk, and two strikeouts, however, he might have to perform even better to get a spot on the roster as the Nationals already have three left-handed outfielders above him on the depth chart.

Josh Bell got high praise from Dave Martinez so far this spring. Bell, 28 and the Washington Nationals are planing on him having a bounce back year from 2020, and everything is on track for that. So far this Spring Training, Bell has hit four homers, nine RBI’s, six walks, four doubles, and a total of 12 hits. His batting average is .375, a slugging percentage of .875 and an OPS of 1.337. Bell has appeared in 13 games so far and has had 39 plate apperances.

Perspective: Has Joe Ross Pitched his way to the Fifth Spot of the Washington Nationals Rotation?

Fast forward to this year's Spring Training, and the big question that the Nationals need to figure out is if Ross is going to be their fifth starter during the season. During this Spring, Ross has been solid, and it looks like he might be that fifth starter in the rotation that Washington needs.

Click here to read the full article

Podcast Alert: In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report

In the latest episode of "In the Clubhouse with the Nats Report," Richard sits down with Washington Nationals Shortstop Prospect Jackson Cluff. They talk about his first experience in Spring Training, what it takes to be a major league player and has a story about facing the 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg. Listen to the full episode on all the major podcasting platforms: