The St. Louis Cardinals (26-24) entered Saturday night’s game against the Nationals having won six straight games that were started by ace Adam Wainwright, who has bounced back from the serious struggles that plagued him early in the season.
Make it seven now.
Wainwright pitched a solid seven innings, yet another quality start, allowing four runs and six hits as St. Louis won the seventh consecutive game started by the 34-year old right-hander.
Starting for the Nationals was Gio Gonzalez, who could not get past the fifth inning, thanks in part to Wainwright himself, as well as an explosive Cardinals offense. With two outs, two baserunners on, and one run already scored, Wainwright contributed to the cause by hitting a two-run double that gave him his fifth extra base-hit of the season.
However, Washington tried to keep it a close ballgame as well, by using their best trait: the long-ball.
Ryan Zimmerman went 4-4 with two home runs and three RBI’s, and last year’s MVP Bryce Harper hit his 13th home run of the season, a solo shot as well.
But they could only come close to being two runs down, as the Cardinals offense blended with Wainwright’s pitching shut them down for the remainder of the evening. In the third inning, Matt Holliday hit a solo home run, keeping the theme of “power hitting” alive this season for St. Louis. The last run-support(s) that were needed by the Cardinals came from the bat of Matt Adams, as he continued his outstanding presence in pinch-hit situations, hitting a two-run double to make it an 8-4 game. Randal Grichuk later scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 9-4.
Meanwhile, Greg Garcia garnered three hits and an RBI for the Cardinals on the evening. Brought up from the minors Thursday when Carpenter was placed on the paternity list, Garcia is batting .647 in 11 big league games this season. He has retained his spot, while the Cardinals have sent down Ruben Tejada.
