Nationals 5, Reds 1

Max Scherzer struck out 10 in eight innings as the Nationals beat Cincinnati in their home game of the season.

Just one start earlier, Scherzer lost a ideal game in the seventh but one-hit the Milwaukee Brewers, meaning he came within one hit of tying Johnny Vander Meer’s two consecutive no-hitters. In the third inning, he made a diving catch, leaping parallel to the ground with glove extended, to rob Schumaker of what probably would have been an RBI hit.

Scherzer, the 2013 AL Cy Young Award victor for Detroit, signed a $210 million contract with Washington this offseason. On June 20, Scherzer no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Did he ponder getting no-no No. 2, which would have made him the first pitcher with two regular-season no-hitters since Nolan Ryan in 1973? He said he thought he was “getting some luck” and that “it had the makings” of a no-hitter.

Harper sat because of his part in Sunday’s altercation with Jonathan Papelbon – or as a regularly scheduled day off, depending on whom you talked to when – absent from a lineup that did not include many Nationals regulars anyway.

Papelbon, meanwhile, is done for the season: He will miss four games because he was suspended by the Nationals for the episode in which he grabbed Harper’s throat, and the other three games because he dropped his appeal of a Major League Baseball ban for throwing near an opponent’s head last week.

Scherzer (W: 13-12, 2.91 ERA), ended the day with a line that reads 8 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, and 10 K. He flirted with what would have ended up as his second no-hitter of the season.

Washington’s Wilson Ramos hit his 15th homer, and Matt den Dekker his fifth.

Up Next: The Reds will begin their final home series of the year on Tuesday when they take on the Chicago Cubs at 7:10 p.m. ET. On Tuesday, they travel south to visit the Atlanta Braves before ending the season at Citi Field, facing the N.L. East champion New York Mets.

Monday’s loss means starters in the last six games have allowed 25 runs allowed in 26 innings, and Price is tasked with keeping rookie morale high through a tough stretch and a quick turnaround. The Cubs have clinched an NL wild card.