Cardinals Top Nationals 4-2 to Extend Win Streak to Seven

The St. Louis Cardinals (21-19) extended their winning streak to seven games with a 4-2 victory over the Washington Nationals (17-23) on Saturday, clinching the series behind a dominant outing from Andre Pallante and a second-inning offensive rally. The Cardinals remain in second place in the NL Central, two games behind the division-leading Cubs.

Starting Pitchers

Andre Pallante (STL): 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 7 K, 0 BB

Trevor Williams (WAS): 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 4 K, 1 BB

Scoring Recap

2nd Inning 

The Cardinals broke through early as Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch and Alec Burleson followed with a walk. Nolan Gorman’s fielder’s choice moved Contreras to third, and Pedro Pagés drove him in with a single to right. Victor Scott II added an RBI single, and Lars Nootbaar capped the rally with a two-run double to deep right field, advancing to third on the throw home.

8th Inning 

With Pallante still on the mound, José Tena led off with a single, and Dylan Crews followed with a two-run homer to left, cutting the deficit to 4-2 and ending the Cardinals’ 23-inning scoreless streak by the starting rotation.

9th Inning 

Closer Ryan Helsley ran into trouble after retiring the first two batters, allowing a single and issuing back-to-back walks to load the bases. He escaped the jam by inducing a popout from CJ Abrams, locking down his seventh save of the year.

Notes and Stats

Pallante delivered the second-longest outing of his career, tossing 7.1 innings.

The Cardinals’ rotation of Gray, Fedde and Pallante had strung together 23 consecutive scoreless innings before Crews’ home run.

This is St. Louis’ first seven-game win streak since August 2022 as they improve to 6-13 on the road.

Betting Recap

Cardinals ML (-115) cashed and the total stayed well under 9 (-105) and was never in serious jeopardy. Eric Sontag’s Same Game Parlay missed as Pallante stayed on the mound for seven innings.

On Deck 

The series wraps up Sunday at 12:35 p.m. CT with Miles Mikolas set to face Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore.

READ MORE: Fedde Tosses First Career Shutout as Cardinals Dominate Nationals 10-0