Nationals starter Max Scherzer reportedly going to pitch with broken nose

A broken nose may not be enough to keep Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer off the mound.

The Nationals star pitcher, Max Scherzer, broke his nose during Tuesday’s batting practice while attempting to lay down a bunt. The 34-year-old Scherzer, however, doesn’t seem that phased by the incident because he’s still not been ruled out for his start Wednesday night.

Scherzer has been lights-out all season, posting a 2.81 ERA in 15 starts this season. But with the Nationals five games below .500 and 8.5 games back in the division, it’s strange to see D.C. risk further injury.

Of course, it is just his nose and the likelihood of him getting hit in the face is relatively slim, but so is bunting a ball directly back into your face. But, according to Jon Heyman, that’s exactly what Scherzer is going to attempt to do.

We’re all here for watching “Mad Max” stare down batters with a mask we’ve seen NBA players sport when breaking their nose (ala Lebron James, circa 2014). Imagine Scherzer on the mound, sweating up a storm with a black mask, mowing dudes down and celebrating while essentially rocking a Batman cowl.

But in all seriousness, the big takeaway is that Scherzer should be just fine going forward. If he does miss Wednesday’s start, at least the Nationals fans can take solace in knowing that he was pushing to start this game and that this shouldn’t be a lingering issue. However, he does apparently have a shiner.

The other aspect to all this is that if the Nationals do decide 2019 isn’t their year, they could start taking this team apart on the pitching side. And it’s already been reported teams like the Yankees would go over the luxury tax threshold to acquire a talent like Scherzer — especially after missing out on Dallas Keuchel.

But regardless of whether the Nationals are trying to win games or audition their current talent, good luck trying to tell Scherzer he’s not pitching.