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## ** Just didn*t finish the pitch,** Scherzer said// ** Backed up on me and clipped him// It*s just one of those things that happened// Just focus on what you can do next//** ® 

## And for the entire game, Scherzer did just that// He knifed through the Pirates* lineup with ease// Zimmermann threw a no hitter on the final day of the regular season last year with a defense that changed nearly every inning// Scherzer got one of the Nationals best defensive alignments all game//® 

## Because Yunel Escobar was scratched just before the game with a stomach bug, Anthony Rendon played his natural position of third base, Danny Espinosa was at second and Ian Desmond was at short// And Scherzer used his defense//® 

## The Pirates made solid contact against him in the second inning, all long flyballs, but Harper, Denard Span and Taylor, who slammed against the left field wall, made running catches for outs// Few balls reached that far over the next seven innings// The first time through the order, the Pirates swung early// After that, Scherzer adjusted//® ** It was just kind of the cat and mouse thing where I could recognize what they were doing,** he said// 

## Playing in his first game since injuring his hamstring Thursday, Harper boosted Scherzer, smashing a solo home run in the fourth inning to center field off Pirates starter Francisco Liriano, only the second home run he has allowed to a left handed batter this season// ® 

## Scherzer may not have needed it, but the Nationals got him five more runs of support, four coming in the sixth// Span reached on a wild pitch, stole his eighth base and scored on Rendon*s double// Harper singled to score Rendon, and Tyler Moore*s two run single chased Liriano//As he did in between every inning, Scherzer watched from the air conditioned clubhouse// He changed his undershirt nearly every inning// Despite the long half inning in the sixth, he was sharp to start the seventh, getting three quick outs, including a strikeout of Andrew McCutchen with a wicked slider// Scherzer bounced off the mound, pumped his fist and jogged into the dugout while the 41,104 people in attendance cheered//® 

## ** It was pretty exhausting out there,** he said// ** It was nice and hot and humid// Going through the first six innings was pretty tiring and exhausting, just mentally, but I just kept firing, pounding the zone//** ** I didn*t think they were going to touch anything he was throwing up there,** Harper said® 

## With two outs in the eighth, the Nationals shifted far to the right against left handed hitter Pedro Alvarez// Scherzer got Alvarez to hit a soft groundball that way// Rendon dived for the ball but couldn*t make the play// Espinosa, standing in shallow right field, ran to his right, scooped it up and fired a laser to first base to get Alvarez by a step// Near the first base line, Scherzer spun, pumped his fist and screamed//® 

** I knew I had to get rid of it quick,** Espinosa said 

## Scherzer took the mound again in the ninth to a standing ovation// No one could sit for the final three outs// Gregory Polanco popped out to Rendon, who made the catch in foul territory at the railing of the Pirates* dugout// Jordy Mercer flied out to Span//® ## And then came the only base runner on the 27th hitter Scherzer faced// Soon thereafter, Scherzer was bathed with six bottles of chocolate syrup by Zimmermann, Harper and Jayson Werth// It is a goofy tradition Scherzer started// His hat and jersey may be the first in Cooperstown with chocolate stains//® 

 ** That*s awesome,** Scherzer said// ** Just shows you how much fun we*re having a team//

 

## The overall bill for the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, largely met by taxpayers, has soared to more than £700m before West Ham United move in as tenants next year. In a move likely to reignite the row over the amount of public money used to make the stadium suitable for both football and athletics, the London Legacy Development Corporation has confirmed the total cost of the transformation at £272m.Originally the Olympic Stadium was priced up at £280m in the London 2012 bid book before the price tag rose to £429m. The latest announcement, following the last of the contracts being signed, takes the total cost of the stadium to £701m. In April the Guardian revealed that the LLDC had opened itself up to a decade of potential challenges over whether the deal broke European Commission state aid rules by not applying for prenotification. The final confirmed cost of the transformation, towards which West Ham will make a £15m contribution on top of the £2.5m they will pay annually for a 99 year lease, is significantly higher than the £154m originally announced when the deal with West Ham was agreed.Without allowing for inflation, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff cost £121m in 1999 and Arsenal-s similar sized Emirates Stadium cost £390m in 2006. However, the LLDC would argue that the Olympic Stadium project was unusually challenging in engineering terms and involved effectively entirely rebuilding the existing structure. The saga of the stadium-s legacy has been long and tortuous. The initial plan was to remove the upper tiers of the stadium and scale it back to a modest 25,000 seat bowl after the Games. 

## But the coalition government and Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, urged a rethink in 2010, reasoning that it was folly to in effect knock it down and that only football could provide a sustainable future. Following a bitter battle with Tottenham Hotspur, a deal was eventually agreed with West Ham that later collapsed under legal challenge. Following another tender process, the club were awarded a 99 year lease to share the stadium with other tenants including UK Athletics. The operator of the Stade de France was recently appointed to handle the running of the stadium and to book concerts and sporting events to supplement income. Last year the LLDC admitted that the cost had risen to £193.9m as a result of difficulties that Balfour Beatty was experiencing with the world-s largest cantilevered roof. The LLDC said that the deals it had signed with West Ham, who will in effect be the main tenants during the football season, and British Athletics, which is entitled to use for the whole of July, would ensure that it would not require continuing subsidy from the taxpayer. *We have invested in transforming a temporary athletics venue into a permanent world class multiuse arena that has a secure and long term sustainable future,* said the LLDC-s chief executive, David Goldstone. *This has required a significant amount of work and innovative engineering solutions. *Alongside the transformation work the deals signed with British Athletics and West Ham United and the appointment of a stadium operator ensures the stadium will pay its way and not require any continuing subsidy from the taxpayer.*The largest chunk of funding for the transformation comes from a one off settlement of £148.8m from the exchequer in 2010. On top of that Newham council has provided £40m, West Ham £15m, almost £40m comes from the original £9.3bn budget for the Olympics, a further £25m from the government. UK Athletics has invested £1m and the London Marathon Charitable Trust has provided £3.5m. In return for investing £40m for a share in the special purpose vehicle that owns the stadium, Newham council has been guaranteed access to the stadium and up to 100,000 tickets a year to West Ham matches. ## West Ham are set to move into the stadium, which will have 21,000 moveable seats designed to make it more suitable for football, at the start of the 2016 17 season. The club-s vice chair, Karren Brady, who has sold out of some of the executive box offerings, has promised cut price season tickets in order to fill the ground and make Premier League football more affordable. Johnson blamed a lack of planning by his predecessors for the cost of transforming the stadium into a 54,000 seat multipurpose arena. Concerned about the potential for delays and without a definite commitment from a football club, the Olympic board decided in 2007 to press ahead with plans to build the stadium with a demountable top tier that could be removed afterwards to bring the capacity down to 25,000. *A very bad call was made when those in charge at the time backed a stadium construction plan that would leave the Olympic Park with a much smaller, mouldering and tumbleweed ridden arena following the Games,* Johnson said. *Following that plan would have literally torn the heart out of the park and put at risk the incredible economic regeneration we are now seeing in east London.

 ## *Our remedy offered long term sustainable investment in order to protect an iconic stadium that Londoners took to their hearts, and which is now set to be home to almost every conceivable sport, concert or community event for decades to come. *We-ve created a knockout venue that will drive and sustain thousands of jobs, where we-ve ensured that a hefty share of the profits will be paid back into the taxpayers coffers and which provides a genuine Olympic legacy for our city.*