Blue Jays Steal One in D.C., Scherzer Wobbles But Survives

The Blue Jays squeaked past the Nationals 3-2 in a low-scoring affair that made our Nationals -126 pick look foolish in hindsight. We banked on Max Scherzer's disastrous 10.23 ERA continuing its freefall and Washington's hot bats staying scorching — instead, we got a pitcher's duel nobody saw coming.

Scherzer wasn't dominant, but he was good enough. The veteran showed flashes of his old command, keeping Toronto's anemic offense mostly in check despite the shaky peripherals we highlighted. Meanwhile, Andrew Alvarez matched him nearly pitch-for-pitch, and the game turned into exactly the kind of tight, low-scoring grind that favors the underdog catching a number.

Washington's offense, riding high at 7.1 runs per game over their last ten, completely vanished when it mattered. Two runs? That's not the explosive unit we sold you on. Toronto's bats, supposedly frozen at 2.4 runs per game recently, found just enough life to scratch across three and steal a road win.

The pitching mismatch we loved never materialized. Scherzer steadied the ship, the Nationals' hot streak hit a wall, and we're left holding a losing ticket. Sometimes the narrative writes itself backward — this was one of those nights.