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Nationals GM: 'Con artist' Girardi was playing games with Scherzer

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Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo wasn't pleased with Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi's mid-inning substance check request of right-hander Max Scherzer during Tuesday's game.

"Of course he was. What are we, idiots?" Rizzo told "The Sports Junkies" on 106.7 The Fan on Wednesday when asked if the Phillies bench boss was trying to throw Scherzer off his game. "It's embarrassing for Girardi. It's embarrassing for the Phillies. It's embarrassing for baseball. Yes, he was playing games."

"That was his goal," he added. "He's a con artist."

Girardi was ejected from Tuesday's contest for a heated exchange with the Washington dugout following Scherzer's third substance check in the fourth inning. The veteran skipper said postgame he had Scherzer checked again because the Nationals ace kept wiping his head.

Rizzo said the umpires shouldn't have granted Girardi's request because there was "no probable cause." He added that Scherzer was probably the wrong person to do that to.

"This is what we're going to have to deal with, and you think you're going to intimidate Max Scherzer and that type of thing," Rizzo said. "It's just not going to happen. You're just going to piss him off and make him concentrate that much harder. This is about breaking Max's rhythm and frustrating him. It didn't work."

Scherzer, who blasted commissioner Rob Manfred after the game, allowed just two hits and struck out eight over five innings during the 3-2 win.

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