ST. LOUIS (AP) – Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer lost his no-hit bid on Paul Goldschmidt’s clean single leading off the seventh inning in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Goldschmidt’s line drive dropped in front of left fielder Juan Soto, who played the ball conservatively with Washington clinging to a 1-0 lead. Scherzer got a strikeout and a double play to end the inning.
Washington won 2-0 in Game 1 behind Anibal Sanchez, who allowed the Cardinals’ only hit of the night with two out in the eighth inning.
Scherzer walked Kolten Wong in the first and Dexter Fowler in the sixth for St. Louis’ only baserunners before Goldschmidt. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has struck out 11 through seven innings.
Scherzer, a St. Louis native, has a record five career postseason no-hit bids of at least five innings, according to Elias Sports. He came closest to finishing in Game 3 of the 2017 NL Division Series, getting one out in the seventh inning before allowing a hit.
Sanchez and Scherzer also began the 2013 ALCS with consecutive no-hit bids of at least five innings for Detroit against Boston.
There have only been two postseason no-hitters. Don Larsen threw a perfect game for the New York Yankees against Brooklyn in the 1956 World Series, and Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 NL Division Series.
Washington led 1-0 on Saturday on Michael A. Taylor’s homer on Adam Wainwright’s first pitch of the third inning.
