WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals are certainly thankful they have Max Scherzer, who will start on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.Starter Stephen Strasburg was pulled after 42 pitches on Wednesday and has a flexor mass strain.Another right-handed starter, Joe Ross, who made his big league debut in June, 2015, has been on the disabled list since July.If the Nationals make the playoffs Scherzer will certainly pitch the first game and the Nationals will most likely need to ride him a long way in October, especially if Strasburg does not return.You dont have to be big. You have to be flexible, Washington manager Dusty Baker said of Scherzer. Some guys are just blessed with that.Baker pointed to Nolan Ryan, who pitched into his 40s and had a good work ethic -- just like Scherzer.Nolan Ryan worked his butt off, Ryan said.The same can be said of Scherzer, who was signed by the Nationals prior to the 2015 season.His legs are good and his mind is strong, said Baker, in his first year with the Nationals.Baker has asked Scherzer to let rookie pitcher Lucas Giolito follow him around and pick his brain before games.Some of the Phillies have had little success against Scherzer, who threw two no-hitters last season.Ryan Howard is hitting .100 in 20 at-bats against Scherzer although Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said it is unlikely Howard starts Saturday.Maikel Franco (wrist), who did not start for the third day in a row Friday, is hitting .067 in 15 trips to the plate against Scherzer while Freddy Galvis is hitting .182 in 25 at-bats.Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said after Fridays game that he hopes Franco can play Saturday.Cesar Hernandez is hitting .238 in 21 at-bats against Scherzer, a native of St. Louis who won a Cy Young Award with the Detroit Tigers.The Phillies starter on Saturday will be Jerad Eickoff, who was one of three pitchers the Texas Rangers traded to Philadelphia in July, 2015 for veteran lefty Cole Hamels.Eickoff is 10-13, 3.86 this year in 28 starts and has 138 strikeouts while giving up 166 hits in 167 2/3 innings. He has won five of his last six starts.He is 0-1, 4.50 against the Nationals this year and 1-1, 3.46 in two starts in his career against Washington.Eickoff has held Daniel Murphy in check with one hit in nine at-bats. Bryce Harper has just one hit in six trips against him.He won his 10th game on Monday as he beat the Miami Marlins 6-2.Anytime you get double-digit wins, its a huge testament to what we as pitchers try to do, Eickhoff told reporters after that game. Vapormax Flyknit Levně . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Nike Vapormax Damske . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. http://www.vapormaxlevne.cz/vapormax-plus-boty.html . JOHNS, N. Vapormax Plus černé . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Nike Vapormax Levne . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. WASHINGTON -- Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos had surgery on his right knee and his rehabilitation is expected to take six to eight months.Washington said Ramos had the operation on Friday, hours after the teams season ended with a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of their National League Division Series.Ramos was injured last month, during the last week of the rregular season.dddddddddddd During Fridays surgery, his ACL was reconstructed and the medial meniscus and lateral meniscus were repaired.He batted .307 with 22 homers and 80 RBIs this season, a career year right before he can become a free agent. ' ' '