My childhood allegiance elsewhere in the NL East means that I tend to think of the Nationals as rivals upon which to wish misfortune. Or, rather, didn't root for them — until Max Scherzer, 99 pitches into a historic outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, had the bases loaded and one out in the seventh inning of a do-or-die game and I pressed my palms together in front of my face like so many tense crowd shots you've seen of sporting events over the years, held my breath, and hoped he would get out of it unscathed. It's just that after giving up a solo shot to the third batter in Game 4 of the National League Division Series Monday night, Scherzer had gotten steadily better as the weather worsened around him, at one point retiring 10 consecutive Dodgers, who scored the NL's most runs in the regular season.