James Wood hit his 24th homer, Nathaniel Lowe added a three-run shot and the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 Wednesday night to give interim manager Miguel Cairo his first victory.
Cairo took over when Washington fired manager Dave Martinez and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo hour after a 6-4 loss to Boston on Sunday.
Wood hit a solo homer in the seventh inning with an exit velocity of 115.9 mph that traveled 433 feet to center field. Wood has been named an All-Star and will take part in the Home Run Derby.
Lowe staked Washington to a lead in the first inning with his 14th homer of the season. The Nationals added three more runs in the sixth on an RBI double by Alex Call and a bloop single with the bases loaded by Jacob Young that scored two runs.
Amed Rosario hit a solo homer, his fifth, in the fifth inning, for a 7-1 lead. MacKenzie Gore (4-8) pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk while striking out seven as the Nationals snapped a four-game skid.
Andre Pallante (5-5) worked six innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout. Masyn Winn had three hits for the Cardinals.
Up next
Washingtons Michael Soroka (3-6, 5.40) pitches against St. Louis Miles Mikolas (4-6, 5.36) on Thursday.
First pitch at Busch Stadium is set for 6:45 with pregame coverage by Ameran Total Access begins at 5:50. Thursday’s game can be heard live on KTLO AM 1240.
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