ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Bryce Harper had three hits and drove in three runs, and a
beleaguered bullpen held on as the Washington Nationals snapped a four-game
losing streak with a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
The Nationals won for just the third time in their last 10 games and snapped
the Cardinals’ season-high, eight-game winning streak.
Tanner Roark (8-12) gave up four runs, three earned, in six innings.
A bullpen that had blown two leads to start the losing streak took care of the
rest. Justin Miller pitched two scoreless innings and Koda Glover earned the
save in the first opportunity since Ryan Madson was placed on the disabled list
on Tuesday.
Harper drove in the game’s first run with a double in the first and knocked in
two more with a bases-loaded single in the fourth to give the Nationals a 4-1
lead.
A pair of errors helped the Nationals extend their lead to 5-1 in the fifth.
St. Louis committed three errors in the game after committing just four total
errors during the winning streak.
The Cardinals got within one in the sixth. After Paul DeJong and Kolten Wong
came up with back-to-back, two-out RBI hits, Harrison Bader hit a slow grounder
to third. Anthony Rendon’s throw to first got away from Ryan Zimmerman for an
error, allowing Wong to score from second to cut the Nationals’ lead to 5-4.
Just two of the four runs Luke Weaver (6-11) allowed in his 3 2/3 innings were
earned. He gave up seven hits, including two to Roark, who scored both times.
Tyson Ross allowed one unearned run in 3 1/3 innings of relief.
Bader homered in the third and Matt Carpenter walked in the third to extend his
on-base streak to a career-high 34 games.
TRAINING ROOM
Cardinals: RHP Carlos Martinez (right shoulder strain) will begin a rehab
Friday at Double-A Springfield. RHP Adam Wainwright (right elbow inflammation)
threw two scoreless innings Thursday night at High-A Palm Beach.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty (6-6, 3.22 ERA) kicks off a three-game series
Friday night as the Cardinals host the Milwaukee Brewers and RHP Freddy Peralta
(5-3, 4.47 ERA). Flaherty struck out a career-high 13 batters in his last start
against the Brewers on June 22.
Game time is 7:15 with the pre-game at 6:20 on KTLO-AM.
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