WASHINGTON — Aaron Nola outdueled Max Scherzer, Odubel Herrera hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning Thursday and the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals, 2-0.

Nola (15-3) was masterful in his matchup with Scherzer, 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.

Nola struck out nine and finished with a 2.13 ERA – the exact same ERA as Scherzer. Along with Jacob deGrom of the Mets, they are considered the top candidates for the NL Cy Young this season.

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 John Tudor of St. Louis faced Dwight Gooden of the Mets 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, when a Jorge Alfaro 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.

GIANTS 3, METS 1: Madison Bumgarner hit an RBI double and pitched San Francisco to a victory at New York.

In his first appearance in New York since tossing a four-hit shutout in the 2016 NL wild-card game, Bumgarner (5-5) allowed one run on five hits in eight innings. He struck out eight and walked none.

Bumgarner extended his scoreless streak at Citi Field to 33 innings before Todd Frazier homered to begin the seventh. Bumgarner is 7-0 with a 1.42 ERA in eight starts against the Mets – he’s 5-0 with an 0.59 ERA in six starts at the Mets’ park.

ROCKIES 4, PADRES 3: Ian Desmond hit a two-run, two-out homer in the ninth inning, and Colorado won at Denver in the return of 38-year-old outfielder Matt Holliday.

Desmond lined an 88 mph splitter from reliever Kirby Yates (4-3) over the fence in left after Trevor Story singled earlier in the ninth and stole second. It was Desmond’s second career walk-off homer. His other was May 2, 2012, against Arizona.

Holliday was in Colorado’s starting lineup for the first time in a decade after having his contract selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. Wearing black spikes from 2007 – his new ones arrive Friday – Holliday finished 0 for 3. He had a long drive in the fifth and even went into a little hop, but the ball got held up by the wind.

BRAVES 5, MARLINS 0: Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. hit his 21st home run and got hit by another Miami pitch, though tempers stayed in check this time at Miami.

It was the first meeting between the teams since the Aug. 15 game in which Miami starter Jose Urena earned a six-game suspension by plunking Acuna on his first and only pitch, sparking a melee where dugouts from both sides emptied onto the field twice.

This time no hysterics broke out.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

TIGERS 7, WHITE SOX 2: Matthew Boyd pitched six scoreless innings and Ronny Rodriguez hit his first career home run to lift Detroit at home.

Rodriguez also hit an RBI double, and Nicholas Castellanos and Mikie Mahtook homered off James Shields (5-15). All three of Detroit’s homers were solo shots in the sixth inning.

RAYS 4, ROYALS 3: A throwing error on Kevin Kiermaier’s bases-loaded grounder in the ninth inning helped Tampa Bay complete a four-game sweep at St. Petersburg, Florida.

Kiermaier grounded a 3-2 pitch to first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, who made a wild toss to the plate.

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