MILWAUKEE -- Football is considered the game of inches, but a few inches kept Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer from history Sunday afternoon at Miller Park.

Scherzer retired the first 18 batters in order Sunday before Carlos Gomez blooped a broken-bat single into right to lead off the seventh, breaking up Scherzer's bid for perfection in what was ultimately a 4-0 Nationals victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.

"I've seen no-hitters," Washington manager Matt Williams said. "Been involved on the other side of no-hitters. I just thought he was in complete control from the first pitch today. They're an aggressive hitting club that he was able to get ahead on and finish. A really nice performance today."

The right-hander, in the first year of a seven-year, $210 million contract, established a career high with 16 strikeouts, also setting a single-game record for the Nationals' franchise.

"I felt the same warming up in the pen," said Scherzer (7-5). "You can never tell how you feel when you warm up in the pen. Sometimes when you feel the worst is when you throw the best."

He already had 11 strikeouts to get through his first six innings of work when Gomez came to the plate to open the seventh.

Gomez worked the count even at 1-1 before reaching out for 94 mph fastball that snapped his bat. The ball fell onto the turf in right, just inches from the glove of second baseman Anthony Rendon, who tried to make the play and save the no-hitter.

"I thought it was just going to hang," Scherzer said. "Maybe there was a way for Rendon to get back there. But it just fell in, nothing you can do."

The way Scherzer was dealing helped take the pressure off Washington's offense, which managed just enough support to back up the Nationals' ace.

They scored two against right-hander Taylor Jungmann (1-1), who struggled in just his second major league start, giving up two runs, seven hits and two walks with two wild pitches and a hit batter while striking out five in five innings.

""I was really proud of Taylor," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. "I thought he had to fight for everything he got and he kept us in the game. He had a tough day but kept us in the game, and that's a success."

The damage, though, could have been even greater as Washington stranded six over the first five innings and eight total for the day, while going 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Jungmann and the Brewers caught a big break in the first inning when Counsell issued two challenges and won each review.

"If replay isn't in the game right there, it's a long inning," Jungmann said. "It was huge for me to get those two outs. They were close plays, you can't really fault the umpire for calling it the way they did. They were really close plays but luckily, there was replay."

Rendon's sacrifice fly in the third and an RBI single by catcher Jose Lobaton gave Scherzer a 2-0 lead that was enough until right fielder Clint Robinson came through with a two-out, two-run double in the seventh off Brewers right-hander Jeremy Jeffress.

"We kept it 2-0 for a while and you're thinking bloop and a mistake and you're back in it," Counsell said. "But it was pretty easy to see early that (Scherzer) was on top of everything. You try to keep going up and have good at-bats but he just kept making pitches."

Washington had lost nine of its last 11 before taking two in a row from Milwaukee. The consecutive victories were the Nationals' first since May 24-25 against the Phillies and Cubs, respectively.

NOTES: Nationals RF Bryce Harper was not in the lineup Sunday because of a sore knee. Harper was hit in the knee with a pitch in the ninth inning Saturday. ... Washington announced that the team acquired SS Trea Turner from the San Diego Padres, completing a three-team trade that took place last winter.