The Nationals’ Nate McLouth, left, is safe at first as he beats Cardinals first baseman Matt Adams to the bag as pitcher Jaime Garcia watches in the fifth inning. (Jeff Roberson/AP)
ST. LOUIS – Since the Washington Nationals rose from division bottom-dwellers to contenders over the past two-plus seasons, they have written new histories with opponents. But one of the few teams they cannot seem to solve, no matter the circumstances or improved talent, is the St. Louis Cardinals, the most decorated team in the National League over the past few seasons.
The Nationals arrived in St. Louis on Friday for the final leg of an exhausting 10-day road trip. They came playing their best baseball of the season, winners of 10 of their previous 13 games, including five of the first seven road games in San Diego and NL West-leading San Francisco.
In St. Louis, however, the good feeling of their early June turnaround evaporated quickly in the span of three days, capped by Sunday’s 5-2 loss and series sweep. Since 2008, the Nationals are 2-18 in St. Louis. And since the start of the 2012 season, and including that year’s playoff series loss to St. Louis, the Nationals are 8-17 against the Cardinals.
If the Nationals hope to rise to the top of their division and the league, they must learn to solve the NL’s most accomplished teams. Their four-game losing streak, for now, has dropped them out of first place in the National League East. Their 5-5 road trip went from exhilaration to disappointment.
The Cardinals’ starting rotation is strong, but the Nationals’ offensive halt has been abrupt and damaging. Since the final game in San Francisco, the Nationals have scored four runs in four games. In the previous six games, they scored 32 runs. Against St. Louis, the Nationals stranded 18 base runners and went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position. The problem wasn’t only a lack of scoring, but a scarcity of chances.
The Nationals tweaked their lineup against Cardinals left-handed starter Jaime Garcia. Ryan Zimmerman made his career debut at first base and gave Adam LaRoche a day off against a left-handed pitcher who has done well against him. As a result, little-used lefty-masher Scott Hairston was placed in left field, where Zimmerman had been playing.
The Nationals have had success against Garcia in his career. Although he entered with a 3.29 ERA in five career starts against Washington, Nationals hitters had an all-time .295/.350/.375 slash line against him. The Nationals have also crushed left-handed pitchers this season, posting a .760 OPS, baseball’s sixth-best mark. And like the rest of the series, the Nationals struggled to hit.
Some Nationals hit the ball hard – Zimmerman and Hairston – but right at well-placed defenders. Some made mistakes – Hairston settled for a second-inning single on a ball he hit off the left field wall because he jogged out of the batter’s box. But overall, the Nationals’ once-red-hot offense entering St. Louis was shut down to almost nothing.
The Nationals’ lone run for eight innings on Sunday came in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with two singles and an Anthony Rendon walk. Jayson Werth drew a two-out walk off Garcia to drive in a run. Twenty-three innings into the series, it was the Nationals’ second run against the Cardinals.
The Nationals’ improved June has been powered by their hot-hitting and dominant starting pitching. For the most part, the starters held their own against the Cardinals’ talented but underperforming lineup. Doug Fister, who entered the game with a 1.83 ERA over his previous six starts, had his first shaky start in weeks.
Fister thrives by walking few batters and having opponents beat his sinker into the ground. In his previous 39 1/3 innings, he walked only three batters. On Sunday, he walked two Cardinals batters in six innings. He also left pitches up in the strike zone that Cardinals hitters clobbered.
Slugger Matt Adams homered in his third straight game against the Nationals, crushing a Fister cutter over the right field fence in the second inning for a two-run home run. His supremacy over the Nationals pitching earned him a curtain call from Cardinals fans following his trot around the bases.
Fister served up another home run in the third inning, a laser shot by Matt Holliday, who gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead. Fister allowed another run in the fifth inning and reliever Ross Detwiler’s struggles continued, giving up another run in the seventh.
The Nationals inserted a small measure of drama in the ninth inning by loading the bases against relievers Sam Freeman and closer Trevor Rosenthal. Rendon’s single off Rosenthal loaded the bases and pinch-hitting LaRoche drove in a run with a walk. Werth battled Rosenthal for seven pitches but popped up to end the game.
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