WASHINGTON (AP) Max Scherzer stole the first base of his professional career and allowed only two singles in his fifth big league shutout, and the Washington Nationals ended a five-game losing skid while getting back to .500 with a 2-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday night.
Scherzer (2-1), the winner of the past two NL Cy Young Awards, did not let the Braves push a runner beyond first base. Kurt Suzuki got a hit in the second, and Nick Markakis did in the fifth, but neither advanced.
Scherzer managed to get farther than that: He swiped second after singling off reliever Peter Moylan in the seventh.
Howie Kendrick delivered all the offense Washington needed with a two-run double.
Scherzer struck out 10 and walked none in his ninth complete game in 299 major league starts. And he needed only 102 pitches, a far more efficient outing than his previous time on the mound: He threw 110 over five innings in a 7-1 loss at Atlanta on April 4.
Julio Teheran (0-1) went six innings for the Braves, and the only damage came on Kendricks shot that hugged the left-field line with two outs in the first inning. That brought home Anthony Rendon, who also had doubled, and Bryce Harper, who walked.
BREWERS 5, CARDINALS 0
ST. LOUIS (AP) In his St. Louis debut, Greg Holland walked four batters in the 10th inning and forced home the go-ahead run.
The 32-year-old Holland, who tied for the NL lead with 41 saves for Colorado last season, was signed as a free agent on opening day. He pitched two innings at Class A before joining the Cardinals earlier in the day.
Holland (0-1) walked two batters to begin the 10th. After a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk loaded the bases. The three-time All-Star closer then walked Orlando Arcia and was pulled.
Matt Albers (2-0) gave up the tying run in the ninth. The Cardinals loaded the bases with no outs, and Dexter Fowlers sacrificed fly tied it at 4.
Brewers newcomer Lorenzo Cain tripped over the foot of Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez on a play in the ninth, and both exited. Martinez bruised his right Achilles.
