After winning two in a row against St. Louis, Washington came into the 4:05pm game wearing the blue jerseys with the American flag style curly “W” and looking for the first sweep of the season. Stephen Drew has a right hamstring strain and was placed on the 10-day DL (MLB.com). Washington called up infielder Grant Green for Syracuse to fill a roster spot after another shortstop was placed on the 10-day DL. The Cardinals were in control for just about the entire game. St. Louis got up on the board in the 1st inning by way of a Scott Piscotty double to score Matt Carpenter. Carpenter hit a sac fly to score Eric Fryer in the 5th inning making it 2-0. Piscotty hurt the Nationals later in the inning with a single to score Dexter Fowler. Scherzer powered through the runs allowed striking out ten Cardinal batters. Wilmer Difo was on base for the Nationals in the 8th inning when Adam Lind got his third pinch-hit hit in four opportunities. Eaton came up next and drove in Difo to avoid a shutout for the offense. Piscotty continued to take it to the Nationals when he hit a three-run home run in the top of the 9th, doubling the St. Louis score and winning it 6-1 for the red birds.
Daniel Murphy picked up a hit continuing his hit streak to nine games. For an offense that has been red hot lately, the Nats could only manage one run despite eight hits, never fully capitalizing with runners on base. Hopefully Trea Turner and Stephen Drew will return healthy in the next week or so. Anthony Rendon is off to a slow start to open the season. I have confidence that he will get back to the offensive and defensive level he has shown in past years. The Nationals are still a game over .500 with a 5-4 record after only the first three match ups of the year. The Nationals stay home for another series against Philadelphia before heading on the road to go against Atlanta, New York, and Colorado.
(featured image was posted by the Nationals Instagram account, @nationals)
The NatsTown Chronicle 