Max Scherzer hits home run, then exits game, leaves Washington Nationals fans IN A LITTLE BIT OF PANIC

It started so innocently.

So, so innocently. With runners on first and third, two strikes, and one out, Max Scherzer showed bunt.

Then, he pulled the bat back, and swung at an 82 MPH cutter from Marlins starter Chris O’Grady, parking it deep in the left field seats of the ever-capacious Marlins Park.

https://twitter.com/TheRenderMLB/status/892532796933234689

It was a moment of jubilee in the Nats dugout and fanbase alike, although most agreed he would never stop talking of his blast, ever. (No-hitter? Meh. Three-run home run? Now we’re talking.)

Then, once he was settled back into the dugout, Scherzer began to express a little pain, grimacing before heading down the steps to the clubhouse.

The majority of the focus still remained on the home run as Scherzer disappeared into the clubhouse — at least, until he took the hill for his warmup tosses in the second inning.

After just one toss, which missed Matt Wieters by quite a bit, Scherzer gestured to the dugout, telling his manager Dusty Baker that he couldn’t continue to pitch.

Now comes the strange part: Ninety nine times out of one hundred, the Nats, even if someone quite clearly broke their leg or scabbed their knee, will refrain from informing the press about the details of any in-game injury.

Of course, Scherzer is not one of those ninety nine guys, because, y’know, he’s Max Scherzer.

Granted, it’s probably hard to hit a home run if your dominant arm is in need of amputation, so anything super serious was almost immediately ruled out.

Or, y’know, as the former FBB stalwart Dave Nichols put it: