The Washington Nationals had an off-day on Monday night, so many of their players attended Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. While Bryce Harper and his wife were wearing Vegas Golden Knights jerseys, Max Scherzer and Ryan Zimmerman were all decked out in Washington Capitals gear, and even sported helmets and sticks like they were players. Scherzer and Zimmerman led the traditional “Let’s Go Caps!” chant before the game. 

The @Nationals‘ Ryan Zimmerman and in the building to get Game 4 started right! #ALLCAPS #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/P0SO74M4Kg

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 5, 2018

The night after the Capitals won 6-2, the Nationals took on the Tampa Bay Rays at Nationals Park. Scherzer was on the mound and had another impressive outing. Scherzer went eight innings striking out 13 batters to earn the win and improve his record to 10-1 on the season.

Max Scherzer threw 99 pitches tonight.

Max Scherzer threw 81 strikes tonight. pic.twitter.com/hbZEDOsiP2

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 6, 2018

Additionally, Scherzer had an immaculate inning in the sixth where he struck out all three batters he faced, all on strikes, in nine pitches.

List of @MLB players known to have recorded at least TWO career immaculate innings:

Lefty Grove (HoF)
Sandy Koufax (HoF)
Nolan Ryan (HoF)
Randy Johnson (HoF)
Max Scherzer (Active) pic.twitter.com/q4iaTcNpnm

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 6, 2018

The Nationals would go on to win 4-2. When Scherzer talked to reporters after the game, he gave credit to the performance of the Capitals the night before.

“I swear I woke up this morning with an extra bounce in my step,” Scherzer said. “The way the Caps played, the fans, the energy at that stadium, everyone here in D.C. … How could you not wake up with an extra bounce in your step?”

Like the Capitals, the Nationals have had their share of playoff disappointment. If the Capitals can finish the job and capture a Stanley Cup, it’ll be interesting to see the kind of effect it’ll have on the Nationals as they try to chase a pennant this October.

By Michael Marzzacco
Follow @marswaggo

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Just #Nats broadcaster @fpsantangelo7 leading #Caps chants on top of the bar at Clyde’s #ALLCAPS #RockTheRed #LetsGoCaps (🎥 @YouDontKnowJAC2)

A post shared by NoVa Caps (@nova_caps) on Jun 5, 2018 at 9:28am PDT