Nationals' Dusty Baker on Max Scherzer vs Cubs: "If you're not locating the ball... you're going to get hit."

Tommy La Stella hit a belt-high, first-pitch fastball outside out to right in Chicago's Wrigley Field for a two-run blast that tied things up at 2-2 in the second.

Anthony Rizzo turned on a 94 mph 0-1 fastball inside and hit it so high and far to right Wrigley's ground rules came into play when it struck the one of the flags bearing retired numbers atop the foul pole.

It had to be reviewed, but the initial call was upheld and the Cubs took a 3-2 lead.

Ben Zobrist hit an 85 mph 1-1 changeup out for a solo blast in the at bat that followed Rizzo's bomb, putting the Cubs up 4-2, and in the fifth, the second baseman hit a 94 mph first-pitch fastball out to right for his second home run of the game, this one a three-run blast that made it 7-2 Cubbies.

Washington rallied late with a four-run eighth inning, but dropped their second straight game, 8-6. Nationals' starter Max Scherzer told reporters after the loss that he didn't know how to explain what went wrong.

"I felt like I was predictable, and they were just able to kind of key on that," Scherzer said, as quoted by MASN's Mark Zuckerman.

"It’s almost like they had a better understanding of me, than me."

"Obviously, I’m catching a little too much plate," Scherzer said at another point in his post game interview. "But at the same time, maybe I was a little too predictable in what I was doing."

Dusty Baker was asked what he saw that was different from Scherzer's previous outing before his start on Friday, when he tossed seven scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.

"Just location," Baker said. "I mean, some of those balls were a little bit up in the middle of the plate.

"It was really the same couple of guys who beat us. I mean, Zobrist, he had four RBIs today, four yesterday, he's had two games of four RBIs a game, and Tommy La Stella. They kind of had [Scherzer's] number. He had some of the other guy's numbers, but those guys have really been beating on us.

"So we've got to find a way to get those guys out and keep getting the other guys out."

"We had good at bats, again," Cubs' skipper Joe Maddon told reporters. "What did he have 90? He probably had 100 pitches or close to it after five, right?"

Scherzer threw 96 pitches total, 61 for strikes, giving up seven hits, the four homers, a double and a triple and he walked three batters in five innings before he was done for the day.

"You could get a guy that good to throw that many pitches, that's what I've been talking about, " Maddon continued.

"We do have command of our strike zone right now and that's a huge part of our success."

"They're a good club," Baker said. "They were good before the season started and we knew they were good coming in here, but we're a good club too, so right now some of those same balls, they're hot, they could be popping them up or hitting them into the ground. It ain't that easy -- you can tell a guy what's coming and still, you see a home run derby, they don't hit every ball out of the ballpark, so it's a matter of those guys are at a high concentration level and they're beating the ball right now."

The four home runs Scherzer allowed were the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth he's allowed in 43 innings pitched this season (1.88 HR/9), up significantly from the 0.99 HR/9 he's averaged over his eight-plus seasons in the majors.

It's the continuation of a trend that started in the second half last season when Scherzer gave up 17 home runs in 96 ⅔ innings pitched (1.58 HR/9) following the All-Star break after he'd allowed 10 homers in 132 IP (0.68 HR/9) in the first half.

Baker was asked if he read anything into all the balls that are leaving the yard this season?

"It sounds like you want me to read something into that," he said.

"What I read into it is improper location. That's the main thing. I don't care who you are, if you're not locating the ball, especially the fastball, then you're going to get hit. Zobrist, the second home run he hit was a changeup that got up.

Cubs 8-6 over Nationals: Scherzer gives up four home runs

Photo © Matt Marton/USA TODAY Sports

"It's a matter of location. The one that hurt was the three-run homer. At that point it was a two-run game. You can't keep somebody loose the whole time and anticipate the guy is going to hit a three-run homer.

"We fought back, just the deficit was a little bit too much."

Washington dropped its second straight game in Chicago, falling to 19-10 on the year. They play two more with the Cubs this weekend and they'll have to try to figure out how to beat a team no one has been able to slow done yet.