Wire Taps: Washington Nationals’ win with extra-inning rule; Juan Soto nears return + Max Scherzer on Miami “vote”...

Max Scherzer put together a solid outing last night, and afterwards he spoke to reporters on a Zoom call, and the Washington Nationals’ ace and clubhouse leader and union rep has his opinions, so a reporter wanted to know what the 36-year-old, three-time Cy Young winner’s role was in the vote among players who said they didn’t want to travel to Miami? It turns out that Scherzer ... missed the vote?

“I actually missed that team meeting, I actually was in the weight room,” Scherzer said.

“I missed out on that meeting, I missed it, but I was able to get the gist of what was said.”

As he explained it, the thinking was that the easiest thing for everyone involved, after the Fish had 16 people test positive for the coronavirus, was for the Marlins, who were in Baltimore, to just drive down to D.C. to play, rather than having both of the teams travel to Florida, a current COVID-19 hotbed.

“That was kind of my thought — you kind of think how are you going to engineer this? Here we are, we have a huge outbreak on a team, how do you want to handle it? What’s the best way for them and us? I think that was one of the things that we were thinking as well.”

Seems reasonable. Go read your links...

NATS BEAT:

Nationals win one!!:

Nationals get vital hits in 10th inning to beat Blue Jays - (Washington Times)
"A pitchers’ duel pitting veteran ace against lauded prospect lived up to the billing. To break a nil-nil tie in extra innings, some bats finally had to come alive."

Nats notch wacky road win in home ballpark - (MLB.com)
"The Nats took on the role of visitor at Nationals Park for what is considered the Blue Jays’ opening homestand of the year."

Scherzer K's Vlad and Vlad Jr. 10 years apart - (MLB.com)
“'Man, I'm just getting old,' Scherzer said with a laugh after the Nationals’ 4-0 win. 'I just had my birthday, I'm 36 now. I'm an old guy in the league now. It's official.'"

Nats win 10-inning pitchers' duel to snap skid - (MASN)
“'We needed this win,' said Max Scherzer, whose team had lost three in a row to open the season 1-4. 'We needed to start getting some mojo going.'"

Nationals make most of new extra-inning rule, beat Blue Jays, 4-0 - (The Washington Post)
"Washington snaps three-game skid with a four-run 10th, sparked by a close call at second that was upheld by replay."

Clear Soto, You Cowards! Sorry, I didn’t mean that “coward” part:

Juan Soto sidelined while waiting for D.C. Department of Health clearance - (Washington Times)
"Major League Baseball cleared Washington Nationals star Juan Soto to rejoin the team after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, but Soto is still stuck at home while he awaits approval from the D.C. Department of Health."

Soto, Strasburg each nearing return - (MLB.com)
“'We hope to have him back [Saturday], so he could work out with us Saturday,' Martinez said on Wednesday. 'That’s all I got. That’s all they gave me.'"

Soto cleared to play, waiting on D.C.; Strasburg "day-to-day" - (MASN)
"The Nats play two more games against the Blue Jays this week, but then do not have another scheduled game until next Tuesday, when they play the Mets at home."

Mike Rizzo expects Juan Soto back by Mets series next week - (NBC Sports Washington)
"Also Wednesday, Mike Rizzo said on The Junkies he expects Soto back by the New York Mets series which begins Aug. 4."

NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

Max Scherzer Talks to ‘R2C2’ About His Comfort Level Playing During the Pandemic - (The Ringer)
"One of the first guests is Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who talked to CC and Ryan about his comfort level playing during the pandemic and how MLB is handling the Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak."

Washington Nationals Catcher Kurt Suzuki Selling $2.68M Redondo Beach Home - (New Haven Register)
"Suzuki's SoCal home in Redondo Beach, CA, is now on the market for $2.68 million."

MLB Says Soto Can Return After Positive Coronavirus Test, But DC Approval Awaits - (DCist)
"Soto, 21, has missed five games while quarantining due to positive test results coming mere hours before the team’s opening night game against the Yankees on Thursday."

Blue Jays squander top prospect Pearson's dazzling debut with extra inning loss to Nats - (CBC Sports)
"Expectations were sky-high for Nate Pearson's big-league debut Wednesday night at Nationals Park."

Marlins' outbreak prompts questions about Florida travel for MLB - (WaPost)
"As the league tries to ride out a chaotic opening week, the biggest issue going forward might best be defined not as a Marlins problem, but a Miami one."

NL EAST UPDATES:

Phillies Andrew McCutchen puts angry fan in their place with a perfect tweet - (NBC Sports Philadelphia)
"McCutchen has plenty of tweets sent his way, but a particular message from one Twitter user, berating McCutchen for his .000 batting average so far this season, clearly caught his eye."

deGrom's scoreless streak ends in Mets' loss - (MLB.com)
"For about five minutes on Wednesday, the path to victory for Jacob deGrom was clear."

D’Angelo: After Nationals voted not to come to Miami, will other teams follow and throw Marlins season into further chaos? - (The Palm Beach Post)
"Before baseball postponed Miami’s three-game home series this weekend against Washington, Nationals players voted against traveling to South Florida."

Nick Markakis decides to return to Braves - (MLB.com)
"Nick Markakis has changed his mind. The veteran outfielder has decided to rejoin the Braves for the remainder of the season."