Major League Baseball

Cardinals carry momentum into series with Nationals (Jun 30, 2017)

Published Jun. 30, 2017 2:28 a.m. ET

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AP

ST. LOUIS -- Other than a six-game winning streak in early May that landed the Cardinals in first place in the weak National League Central, St. Louis' season has been mostly devoid of accomplishment.

That is why the Cardinals' 10-4 victory at Arizona on Thursday could be a potential plot twist. It enabled St. Louis (37-41) to win two of three in Chase Field, where the Diamondbacks have won 30 of their first 42 games this year.

"It was just the type of series we need to put in the memory bank," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "This is how it should be."

St. Louis will try to carry over its performance and results to its weekend series against the Washington Nationals in Busch Stadium. The Friday night contest is the first of a 10-game homestand leading into the All-Star break.

Beside the results, the Cardinals played the kind of solid defense against the Diamondbacks that hasn't always been a part of their repertoire. They committed zero errors in the series, getting excellent plays from right fielder Stephen Piscotty and shortstop Paul DeJong in the series finale.

They also got three quality starts and scored 19 runs, turning the last game around because of Randal Grichuk. The outfielder bashed a three-run homer in the seventh inning to put St. Louis ahead for stay, then added a two-run double in a five-run eighth.

In five games since returning from Triple-A Memphis, Grichuk is 7-for-22 (.318) with three homers, nine RBIs and six runs.

"It definitely was a wakeup call," he said of his four weeks in the minors. "I said, 'Let's go and make sure it doesn't happen again.'"

While the Cardinals return home on a high, Washington (47-32) made the trip to St. Louis on Thursday night after losing a game it should have won and losing a player it sure didn't want to lose.

In their latest bullpen collapse, the Nationals coughed up three ninth-inning runs to the Chicago Cubs in a 5-4 defeat. Adding serious injury to insult, Washington also saw shortstop and leadoff hitter Trea Turner sustain a broken right wrist when he was hit by a Pedro Strop pitch in the seventh inning.

There is no timetable for the return of Turner, who is hitting .279 with seven homers and 32 RBIs while leading the majors with 35 stolen bases. Turner's above-average defense won't be easy to replace, either.

"I didn't know because I had tape on my wrist, so initially it didn't really feel that bad," said Turner, who remained in the game until the top of the ninth. "After a little while, it started stiffening up on me."

The Nationals, who won two of three from St. Louis in the season's second week, will hope that Tanner Roark (6-5, 5.15 ERA) can turn it around after three consecutive poor starts. Roark dropped a 6-2 decision Sunday to Cincinnati, allowing five first-inning runs.

He has faced the Cardinals four times (two starts) in his career, going 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA.

Mike Leake (5-6, 3.12 ERA) takes the mound for St. Louis, looking to snap a streak of six winless starts that dates back to May 29. He got a no-decision in an 8-4 victory Sunday night against Pittsburgh, where he gave up four runs (three earned) over six innings.

Leake is 4-5 with a 4.24 ERA in 12 career starts against Washington. He earned a victory at Nationals Park on April 12, when he pitched seven shutout innings and outdueled Max Scherzer in a 6-1 decision.

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