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Aug 4, 2015 - 4:25 AM Every time Max Scherzer takes the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks, it's a reminder that the club dealt him away back in 2009.

Instead of worrying about the ace they no longer have, the Diamondbacks no doubt hope that Patrick Corbin develops into that role over time.

These starters meet for the first time, with Scherzer hoping to help his Washington Nationals end a four-game losing streak Tuesday night at home.

Scherzer (11-8, 2.22 ERA) was a 2006 first-round pick by Arizona (51-53) who pitched two seasons with the club before it dealt him to Detroit before 2010 in a three-team deal that also included the New York Yankees. The right-hander made his first start at Chase Field since the trade in an 11-1 rout May 11, yielding one run in seven innings as he was staked to a 10-run lead before beginning his second inning. He is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA against the Diamondbacks.

He only faced Paul Goldschmidt once in May with the slugger popping out in the first before he was removed from the blowout.

Goldschmidt leads the NL with a .339 average, with Washington's Bryce Harper second at .330. Harper leads the majors with a 1.121 OPS with Goldschmidt second in the league at 1.040.

The Arizona hitter Scherzer has faced the most is Aaron Hill, who is 2 for 14 in this matchup. Scherzer pitched seven innings of three-hit ball in Thursday's 1-0 victory at Miami.

Scherzer is second in the majors in opponent batting average (.193) and WHIP (0.83) and fifth in ERA and strikeouts (172). He is 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA in two home starts since his June 20 no-hitter, with the Nationals (54-50) shut out both times.

He'll try to give the home fans some joy after Washington fell 6-4 in Monday's four-game series opener. The Nationals, losers of 11 of 16, fell one game behind the New York Mets for first place in the NL East.

''At this point it feels like second place and that's where we're at,'' manager Matt Williams said. ''We'll try and get back to where we want to be starting tomorrow.''

Washington is 13-8 when facing a left-handed starter, and Corbin (2-3, 3.21) presents a formidable opponent as he makes his sixth start since returning from Tommy John surgery. A 14-game winner in 2013, Corbin is limiting hitters to a .221 average after ending a three-start slide by giving up one run in six innings as he outdueled Felix Hernandez in Wednesday's 8-2 victory at Seattle.

Corbin, averaging 9.32 strikeouts per nine innings compared to 10.32 for Scherzer, is 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in three starts against the Nationals. Harper is 2 for 6 against him while Ryan Zimmerman is 2 for 9.

He'll face a struggling offense that has totaled nine runs in this slide. Diamondbacks rookie Zack Godley pitched six scoreless innings Monday.

''We're going through a spell right now where we're not scoring many runs,'' said Zimmerman, whose home run began a four-run ninth inning. ''We've gone up against some good pitchers but that's not an excuse.''

David Peralta has 10 hits in his last 23 at-bats and hit one of Arizona's four homers. Nick Ahmed also went deep and had a career-high four hits.






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