WASHINGTON (AP) — has a rooting interest. Still Nick Wittgren Jersey , if it were his call, Aaron Nola would win this year’s NL Cy Young Award.“Just the dependability, the consistency, the creativity,” Kapler said. “The numbers. The numbers speak for themselves.”All of it was on display Thursday as Nola outdueled Max Scherzer in a meeting of All-Star aces, Odubel Herrera hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Philadelphia defeated the Washington Nationals 2-0.Nola (15-3) was masterful in his matchup with the three-time Cy Young Award winner, allowing five hits and one walk. He escaped his biggest jam with his final pitch, striking out Bryce Harper with runners on first and second to end the eighth.“That was a tough battle,” Nola said. “I got behind in the count right there and a couple curveballs kind of slipped out of my hand a little bit. But I felt confident in my fastball to place it where I needed to.”Nola struck out nine and has a 2.13 ERA — the exact same ERA as Scherzer. Along with Mets star Jacob deGrom, they are considered the top candidates for the NL Cy Young this season.Playoff-contending Philadelphia avoided its first five-game losing streak of the season and salvaged the finale of the three-game series.“I think there’s a lot of pitchers around the league who hitters tend to get more comfortable (with),” Kapler said. “It seems like hitters get less comfortable every time they face Aaron Nola. Right when we needed him most, right when we needed him to step up, he really just put the team on his shoulders and carried us today.”Scherzer (16-6) was nearly as good in the first matchup of starters with at least 150 innings and a sub-2.25 ERA since St. Louis’ John Tudor faced Mets ace Dwight Gooden on Sept. 11, 1985. Scherzer gave up two hits in seven innings and struck out 10, increasing his major league-leading total to 244.Scherzer held the Phillies hitless until the fifth Julio Urias Jersey , when Jorge Alfaro’s grounder took a hop and skipped past shortstop Trea Turner. There was a smattering of boos when the official scoring of a single was posted on the scoreboard.The Phillies only other hit off Scherzer came in the seventh. After Maikel Franco’s one-out walk, Herrera launched his 20th home run of the season into the right field seats above the Nationals’ bullpen.“You fall behind enough guys, you fall behind enough counts, eventually you get beat by making a mistake and that’s what happened today,” Scherzer said.Herrera is the first Philadelphia center fielder with 20 home runs since Aaron Rowand in 2007.Pat Neshek pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save.TRAINER’S ROOMPhillies: LHP Luis Avilan reported to the Phillies a day after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox, and C Andrew Knapp was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. 1B Justin Bour (left oblique strain) and RHP Edubray Ramos (right index finger blister) were both placed on the 10-day disabled list.Nationals: 1B Ryan Zimmerman received a routine rest for a day game after a night game. Zimmerman hit a game-ending home run Wednesday and is hitting .360 with six homers and 17 RBIs in his last 15 games.TOUGH TRADEThursday marked Scherzer’s first start since the Nationals traded 1B Matt Adams and 2B Daniel Murphy on Tuesday. Washington has been at least five games out of first place in the NL East every day since June 30.“It’s frustrating, but it’s also been a frustrating season for us as a whole,” Scherzer said of the deals.BOUNCING BACKWashington reliever Greg Holland struck out the side in the ninth and has not allowed a run in 7 1/3 innings since signing with the Nationals.“He’s looking much better,” manager Dave Martinez said. “I know (pitching coach Derek Lilliquist) tweaked his mechanics a little bit. We talked to him about using his fastball a little bit more and he got up to 95 today, which was nice to see.”UP NEXTPhillies: RHP Jake Arrieta (9-8, 3.25 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game set at Toronto, Philadelphia’s final interleague series of the season.Nationals: LHP Gio Gonzalez (7-10, 4.51), who has given up at least five runs in four of his last six starts, faces the Mets as Washington begins a three-game series in New York. The first-place Cleveland Indians will attempt to avoid being swept in a three-game series by the last-place Kansas City Royals when the two teams meet on Sunday afternoon in Kauffman Stadium.After splitting a tense and competitive four-game series with the Red Sox in Boston on the first leg of a seven-game road trip http://www.dodgersfanproshop.com/authentic-max-muncy-jersey , the Indians have looked flat in dropping the first two games in Kansas City by a combined score of 12-5, including the Royals beating Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber 7-1 Saturday night.Cleveland has lost four in a row, matching its longest losing streak of the year.Article continues below ...“We’ve got to figure out a way to play better,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “We look a little tired. We’ve got to show up (Sunday) and grind and find a way to win.”The Indians go into Sunday’s series finale with their two most important hitters, both MVP candidates, in slumps. In the first six games of the road trip Francisco Lindor is hitting .154 (4-for-26) with no RBIs, and Jose Ramirez is hitting .143 (3-for-21) with no RBIs.“They’re having a tough time,” Francona said. “We lean on them so much, and we will continue to. But (Royals pitchers) have done a real good job on those guys the last couple of nights.”In their 7-1 loss Saturday night the Indians were out-hit by the Royals 14-5. Cleveland’s only run came on a balk.Sunday’s pitching matchup will be a pair of right-handers, Cleveland’s Shane Bieber vs. Kansas City’s Jorge Lopez.Bieber (7-2, 4.36) is coming off one of his most impressive starts of the season, a 6-3 win over Boston on Aug. 21 in which he held the Red Sox’ potent offense scoreless on two hits through the first six innings. Bieber’s final line was 6 1/3 innings, three runs, five hits, with five strikeouts and no walks.Bieber is a rookie Chris Taylor Jersey , and like many rookies he’s been very streaky. In four August starts he is 2-0 with a 3.13 ERA. In his four starts prior to that he was 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA. In his four starts prior to that he was 4-0 with a 2.19 ERA.Sunday will be Bieber’s second career appearance vs. Kansas City. His only other appearance against the Royals was a start on July 3 in which he got the win in a 6-4 Cleveland victory. He pitched six innings, allowing four runs and nine hits, with two strikeouts and one walk.Lopez (0-3, 3.99) was acquired by Kansas City from Milwaukee as part of a trade in which the Royals sent Mike Moustakas to the Brewers. Lopez was used as a reliever in Milwaukee, but the Royals are using him as a starter.In 10 relief appearances with the Brewers Lopez was 0-1 with a 2.75 ERA. In two starts with the Royals he is 0-2 with a 6.52 ERA. Lopez also appeared in a combined 26 games (two starts) at the Triple-A level for the Brewers and Royals and was 4-3 with a 5.26 ERA.Lopez’s last major league start for Kansas City was a 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Aug. 20, in which he pitched five innings, allowing one run and five hits, with three strikeouts and three walks.Lopez has one career appearance vs. Cleveland, a relief effort for Milwaukee on May 9. He pitched two innings, giving up two runs and two hits, with one strikeout and no walks.For his career overall at the major league level, Lopez is 1-3 with a 5.95 ERA in four career starts. In 11 career relief appearances he is 0-1 with a 2.91 ERA.