Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) — Stan Kasten, former president of Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves, talks about the contract offers St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols is likely to see if he opts for free agency following this season.
Klein speaks with Erik Schatzker and Stephanie Ruhle on Bloomberg Television’s “InsideTrack.” (Source: Bloomberg)

The Washington Nationals completed a four-game sweep of the mighty Philadelphia Phillies last night, clinching a winning record (10-8) over the league’s leading team this season. To put that in perspective, some facts:

• Teams with winning records vs. the Phillies this year: Nationals (10-8), St. Louis Cardinals (6-3), Seattle Mariners (2-1).
• Teams who have swept the Phillies this season: Nationals (four-game series), Cardinals (two-game series).
• Teams who have won two straight road games against the Phillies this season: Nationals, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Cardinals
• Teams who have won three straight road games against the Phillies this season: Nationals.
• Teams who have won four straight road games against the Phillies this season: Still just the Nationals.
• Teams who have beaten Cliff Lee twice this season: Nationals, Atlanta Braves.
• Phillies’ record vs. Nationals in last seven head-to-head games: 1-7
• Home runs hit by Danny Espinosa against the Phillies this season: Seven
• Home runs hit by Danny Espinosa against everyone else this season: 14

There’s really only one conclusion: the Nationals just own the Phillies. Obviously.

Read More: Brian Broderick (P – WAS), Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals

Minor league starter Brian Broderick, a surprise Rule 5 pick by the Washington Nationals after a solid season at the St. Louis Cardinals’ AA affiliate, was returned Monday after two months of sparing use in the Nats’ bullpen. Broderick appeared in 11 games and finished with an ERA of 6.57; his groundball tendencies were out in full force, but he had trouble getting his high-80s fastball past Major League hitters.

Broderick was nowhere near the Cardinals’ Major League picture despite both matching Dave Duncan’s standing eHarmony personal ad for heavy-fastball pitchers and going 11-2 with a 2.77 ERA in his first exposure to the high minors. With a strikeout-per-nine of just 4.9 in Springfield he simply doesn’t miss enough bats yet, at least as a starter.

The Nationals fans at Federal Baseball did not seem especially concerned by the news, at first glance. With Mitchell Boggs being moved to the Memphis rotation on the same day it’s not immediately clear in what role Broderick will pitch; left-handed equivalent Nick Additon, who was recently promoted from Springfield, might be headed back down.

The word Tuesday was that the Washington Nationals are trying to find an upgrade over Rick Ankiel(notes) in center field.

MLB.com reports that the team has scouted B.J. Upton(notes) of the Tampa Bay Rays but hasn’t talked to the folks in Florida about a potential deal and isn’t planning to do so at this point.

The site also notes that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is perfectly happy with Ankiel playing on a daily basis. Ankiel is batting .211 with one homer so far this season. He hit 25 in 2008 for the St. Louis Cardinals and his career batting average is .246.

Let the rumors come to you. Follow Scoop du Jour on Twitter or Facebook.

Source: MLB.com

Related: B.J. Upton, Rick Ankiel, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals

Read More: Livan Hernandez (P – WAS), Jason Marquis (P – WAS), John Lannan (P – WAS), Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Friday night game between the Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates in Steel City has been rained out. The two teams will make up the game on Monday during what was a planned off day for both teams. Friday’s rain out marks the third time this season the Nationals have had a game cancelled due to the elements.

The first rain out occurred on April 16th at Nationals Park against the Milwaukee Brewers. Three days later, the team was visiting the St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis, and strong storms postponed the first game of the series as well on April 19th. In both of those instances, the Nationals made up the games in doubleheaders.

The Nationals rotation will stay on schedule, with Livan Hernandez pitching Saturday, Jason Marquis pitching Sunday and John Lannan taking the mound the final game of the three-game series on the Monday make up. Friday’s rain out works in Lannan’s favor, as he now will pitch on regular rest.

The Nationals and Pirates go to battle Saturday night at PNC Park at 7:05 P.M. EST.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Almost three weeks into the season, the Washington Nationals stand alone in one category. No other rotation has worked at least five innings in every game.

Tom Gorzelanny kept that run alive despite struggles with command in a 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Kyle Lohse’s two-hitter yesterday.

Gorzelanny walked a batter in each of his first four innings and needed 108 pitches to get through five, but was hurt by Matt Holliday’s two-run home run with two outs in the first.

“Not every start you’re going to feel good and go out there with your best stuff,” Gorzelanny said. “You’ve just got to tell yourself to bear down and no matter how many you throw to each batter, make sure you do whatever you can to get them out.

“I just tried to do what I could and limit the damage.”

John Lannan also worked five innings in an 8-6 victory in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday and Jordan Zimmermann went six innings in a 5-3 loss in Game 2.

The Cardinals have a much higher profile rotation, even without injured Adam Wainwright, but three times their starter has failed to last five innings.

Holliday had both of St. Louis’ hits against Gorzelanny (0-2), also singling to start the fourth. Gorzelanny’s only perfect inning was his last, but he kept the game close.

“I think most starting pitchers will tell you that it’s not that often they go out there and everything is in sync and they feel great,” manager Jim Riggleman said. “Most days you’re scrambling a little bit.

“That was Gorzelanny today, he did a good job battling through that.”

The two-hit game was a career best for Lohse (3-1), who struck out six and walked two in his eighth career complete game and sixth shutout, both accomplished last on April 12, 2009, against Houston.

Albert Pujols added a two-run homer off Collin Balester in a three-run eighth for the Cardinals. St. Louis took two of three from the Nationals and has won eight of 11 overall.

The Nationals are 4-14 at 6-year-old Busch Stadium. The combined Expos/Nationals franchise has won only two of 16 series in St. Louis dating to 1997.

After beating the Cardinals 8-6 in the first game of a doubleheader for their fourth straight win on Wednesday, Washington totaled three runs on seven hits.

“Right now we’re in a period where they pitched and we didn’t hit,” Riggleman said. “It was only a few days before that we were putting double figures in hits out there.”

Lohse has worked at least seven innings in all four starts, moving past a pair of seasons when he was hindered by a forearm injury that required surgery last May, going a combined 10-18 in 2009-10.

Pujols walked with two outs ahead of Holliday’s drive into the Washington bullpen in left on an 0-2 pitch. Holliday is batting .455, although he doesn’t yet have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders after missing seven games in early April following an appendectomy.

Holliday is 7 for 12 with runners in scoring position. Holliday batted .312 with 28 homers and 103 RBIs last year – in mid-June, he was sixth on the team with only 25 RBIs and batting below .200 with runners in scoring position.

Lohse retired 11 in a row to start the game before running into his only trouble when Jayson Werth singled and Adam LaRoche walked with two outs in the fourth, giving the Nationals their lone runner in scoring position. Mike Morse singled leading off the fifth before being erased on a double play and Lohse set down 10 of the last 11.

Pujols hit his sixth homer in the eighth after Colby Rasmus drew a leadoff walk, and David Freese added an RBI double.

NOTES: Pujols grounded into his eighth double play in the third, most in the National League. He entered tied for first in the majors. … Gorzelanny has allowed four homers in 152/3 innings. … The Cardinals have used 17 different lineups in 19 games.

ST. LOUIS —

Almost three weeks into the season, the Washington Nationals stand alone in one category. No other rotation has worked at least five innings in every game.

Tom Gorzelanny kept that run alive despite struggles with command in a 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Kyle Lohse’s two-hitter on Thursday.

Gorzelanny walked a batter in each of his first four innings and needed 108 pitches to get through five, but was hurt by Matt Holliday’s two-run home run with two outs in the first.

“Not every start you’re going to feel good and go out there with your best stuff,” Gorzelanny said. “You’ve just got to tell yourself to bear down and no matter how many you throw to each batter, make sure you do whatever you can to get them out.

“I just tried to do what I could and limit the damage.”

John Lannan also worked five innings in an 8-6 victory in the first game of a doubleheader on Wednesday and Jordan Zimmermann went six innings in a 5-3 loss in Game 2.

The Cardinals have a much higher profile rotation, even without injured Adam Wainwright, but three times their starter has failed to last five innings.

Holliday had both of St. Louis’ hits against Gorzelanny (0-2), also singling to start the fourth. Gorzelanny’s only perfect inning was his last, but he kept the game close.

“I think most starting pitchers will tell you that it’s not that often they go out there and everything is in sync and they feel great,” manager Jim Riggleman said. “Most days you’re scrambling a little bit.

“That was Gorzelanny today, he did a good job battling through that.”

The two-hit game was a career best for Lohse (3-1), who struck out six and walked two in his eighth career complete game and sixth shutout, both accomplished last on April 12, 2009, against Houston.

Albert Pujols added a two-run homer off Collin Balester in a three-run eighth for the Cardinals. St. Louis took two of three from the Nationals and has won eight of 11 overall.

The Nationals are 4-14 at 6-year-old Busch Stadium. The combined Expos/Nationals franchise has won only two of 16 series in St. Louis dating to 1997.

After beating the Cardinals 8-6 in the first game of a doubleheader for their fourth straight win on Wednesday, Washington totaled three runs on seven hits.

“Right now we’re in a period where they pitched and we didn’t hit,” Riggleman said. “It was only a few days before that we were putting double figures in hits out there.”

Lohse has worked at least seven innings in all four starts, moving past a pair of seasons when he was hindered by a forearm injury that required surgery last May, going a combined 10-18 in 2009-10.

Pujols walked with two outs ahead of Holliday’s drive into the Washington bullpen in left on an 0-2 pitch. Holliday is batting .455, although he doesn’t yet have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders after missing seven games in early April following an appendectomy.

Holliday is 7 for 12 with runners in scoring position, a huge change from the start to his first season in St. Louis. Holliday batted .312 with 28 homers and 103 RBIs last year – in mid-June, he was sixth on the team with only 25 RBIs and batting below .200 with runners in scoring position.

Lohse retired 11 in a row to start the game before running into his only trouble when Jayson Werth singled and Adam LaRoche walked with two outs in the fourth, giving the Nationals their lone runner in scoring position. Mike Morse singled leading off the fifth before being erased on a double play and Lohse set down 10 of the last 11.

Pujols hit his sixth homer in the eighth after Colby Rasmus drew a leadoff walk, and David Freese added an RBI double.

NOTES: Pujols grounded into his eighth double play in the third, most in the National League. He entered tied for first in the majors. … Gorzelanny has allowed four homers in 15 2-3 innings. … The Cardinals have used 17 different lineups in 19 games.

Kyle Lohse threw a career-best two-hitter and Matt Holliday kept his average near .500 with a two-run homer and single as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 on Thursday.

Albert Pujols added a two-run homer off Collin Balester in a three-run eighth for the Cardinals. St. Louis took two of three from the Nationals and has won eight of 11 overall.

The Nationals are 4-14 at 6-year-old Busch Stadium. The combined Expos/Nationals franchise has won only two of 16 series in St. Louis dating to 1997.

Lohse (3-1) struck out six and walked two in his eighth career complete game and sixth shutout, both accomplished last on April 12, 2009, with a three-hitter against Houston.

Lohse has worked at least seven innings in all four starts, moving past a pair of seasons when he was hindered by a forearm injury that required surgery last May, going a combined 10-18 in 2009-10.

Tom Gorzelanny (0-2) kept going the Nationals’ run of five-inning starts in every game, but had to work for it. The left-hander walked a batter in each of his first four innings and needed 108 pitches to get through five but was hurt only by Holliday’s second homer with two outs in the first.

Pujols walked with two outs ahead of Holliday’s drive into the Washington bullpen in left on an 0-2 pitch. Holliday is batting .455, although he doesn’t yet have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders after missing seven games in early April following an appendectomy.

Holliday is 7 for 12 with runners in scoring position, a huge change from the start to his first season in St. Louis. Holliday batted .312 with 28 homers and 103 RBIs last year — in mid-June, he was sixth on the team with only 25 RBIs and batting below .200 with runners in scoring position.

Lohse retired 11 in a row to start the game before running into his only trouble when Jayson Werth singled and Adam LaRoche walked with two outs in the fourth, giving the Nationals their lone runner in scoring position. Mike Morse singled leading off the fifth before being erased in a double play and Lohse set down 10 of the last 11.

Pujols hit his sixth homer in the eighth after Colby Rasmus drew a leadoff walk, and David Freese added an RBI double.

NOTES: Pujols grounded into his eighth double play in the third, most in the National League. He entered tied for first in the majors. … Gorzelanny has surrendered four homers in 15 2-3 innings. … The Cardinals have used 17 different lineups in 19 games.

Kyle Lohse threw a career-best two-hitter and Matt Holliday kept his average near .500 with a two-run homer and single as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 on Thursday.

Albert Pujols added a two-run homer off Collin Balester in a three-run eighth for the Cardinals. St. Louis took two of three from the Nationals and has won eight of 11 overall.

The Nationals are 4-14 at 6-year-old Busch Stadium. The combined Expos/Nationals franchise has won only two of 16 series in St. Louis dating to 1997.

Lohse (3-1) struck out six and walked two in his eighth career complete game and sixth shutout, both accomplished last on April 12, 2009, with a three-hitter against Houston.

Lohse has worked at least seven innings in all four starts, moving past a pair of seasons when he was hindered by a forearm injury that required surgery last May, going a combined 10-18 in 2009-10.

Tom Gorzelanny (0-2) kept going the Nationals’ run of five-inning starts in every game, but had to work for it. The left-hander walked a batter in each of his first four innings and needed 108 pitches to get through five but was hurt only by Holliday’s second homer with two outs in the first.

Pujols walked with two outs ahead of Holliday’s drive into the Washington bullpen in left on an 0-2 pitch. Holliday is batting .455, although he doesn’t yet have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders after missing seven games in early April following an appendectomy.

Holliday is 7 for 12 with runners in scoring position, a huge change from the start to his first season in St. Louis. Holliday batted .312 with 28 homers and 103 RBIs last year — in mid-June, he was sixth on the team with only 25 RBIs and batting below .200 with runners in scoring position.

Lohse retired 11 in a row to start the game before running into his only trouble when Jayson Werth singled and Adam LaRoche walked with two outs in the fourth, giving the Nationals their lone runner in scoring position. Mike Morse singled leading off the fifth before being erased in a double play and Lohse set down 10 of the last 11.

Pujols hit his sixth homer in the eighth after Colby Rasmus drew a leadoff walk, and David Freese added an RBI double.

NOTES: Pujols grounded into his eighth double play in the third, most in the National League. He entered tied for first in the majors. … Gorzelanny has surrendered four homers in 15 2-3 innings. … The Cardinals have used 17 different lineups in 19 games.

Read More: Jayson Werth (RF – WAS), Tom Gorzelanny (P – WAS), Kyle Lohse (P – STL), Matt Holliday (LF – STL), Albert Pujols (1B – STL), David Freese (3B – STL), Collin Balester (P – WAS), Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates

Washington Nationals starter Tom Gorzelanny put the Nats in an early first-inning hole, the offense was unable to solve Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse and the Nationals relief was anything but in a 5-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium Thursday. The Cardinals take the series between the two teams with convincing authority.

In the first-inning Gorzelanny got two quick outs before walking dangerous first baseman Albert Pujols. The Cardinals made the lefty pitcher pay as the next batter, Matt Holliday took Gorzo deep for a two-run shot. It is the third start in a row Gorzelanny has given up a home run during the game. Gorzelanny continues to lead the team in home runs given up with five. Gorzelanny settled down not long after that, but ended walking four batters during the day and never looked fully confident on the mound

The Cardinals then unloaded on recently called up reliever Collin Balester in the eighth after Balester was having trouble finding the strike zone. After walking Holliday, Balester gave up a two-run bomb of his own to Albert Pujols. Balester could only record one out in the inning and ended up getting the hook after giving up three runs on two hits and walking two. Holliday would later score after a David Freese double.

St. Louis rarely broke a sweat as Lohse completely shut the Nats offense down and racked up the zeros on the scoreboard. Lohse ended up with a two-hit complete game shutout. Outfielders Michael Morse and Jayson Werth were the only Nationals to record hits in the game.

The Nationals fall back to .500 and a record of 9-9 while maintaining third place in the NL East. The Nationals travel to Pittsburgh to begin a series with the Pirates on Friday starting at 7:05 P.M. EST.

By: AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

St. Louis Cardinals’ Matt Holliday hits a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Thursday, April 21, 2011, in St. Louis.

Kyle Lohse threw a career-best two-hitter and Matt Holliday kept his average near .500 with a two-run homer and single as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 on Thursday.
Albert Pujols added a two-run homer off Collin Balester in a three-run eighth for the Cardinals. St. Louis took two of three from the Nationals and has won eight of 11 overall.
The Nationals are 4-14 at 6-year-old Busch Stadium. The combined Expos/Nationals franchise has won only two of 16 series in St. Louis dating to 1997.
Lohse (3-1) struck out six and walked two in his eighth career complete game and sixth shutout, both accomplished last on April 12, 2009, with a three-hitter against Houston.
Lohse has worked at least seven innings in all four starts, moving past a pair of seasons when he was hindered by a forearm injury that required surgery last May, going a combined 10-18 in 2009-10.
Tom Gorzelanny (0-2) kept going the Nationals’ run of five-inning starts in every game, but had to work for it. The left-hander walked a batter in each of his first four innings and needed 108 pitches to get through five but was hurt only by Holliday’s second homer with two outs in the first.
Pujols walked with two outs ahead of Holliday’s drive into the Washington bullpen in left on an 0-2 pitch. Holliday is batting .455, although he doesn’t yet have enough plate appearances to qualify for the league leaders after missing seven games in early April following an appendectomy.
Holliday is 7 for 12 with runners in scoring position, a huge change from the start to his first season in St. Louis. Holliday batted .312 with 28 homers and 103 RBIs last year — in mid-June, he was sixth on the team with only 25 RBIs and batting below .200 with runners in scoring position.
Lohse retired 11 in a row to start the game before running into his only trouble when Jayson Werth singled and Adam LaRoche walked with two outs in the fourth, giving the Nationals their lone runner in scoring position. Mike Morse singled leading off the fifth before being erased in a double play and Lohse set down 10 of the last 11.
Pujols hit his sixth homer in the eighth after Colby Rasmus drew a leadoff walk, and David Freese added an RBI double.
NOTES: Pujols grounded into his eighth double play in the third, most in the National League. He entered tied for first in the majors. … Gorzelanny has surrendered four homers in 15 2-3 innings. … The Cardinals have used 17 different lineups in 19 games.

By Andrew Kinback – Nationals editor

Follow , and Like SB Nation DC on Facebook.

Apr 21, 2011 - On Thursday afternoon, the Washington Nationals will be on the hunt to get back into the win column, left-handed starter Tom Gorzelanny (0-1, 5.56 ERA) will be looking for more consistency and the St. Louis Cardinals will be battling to throw a wrench in the gears of those plans. The Nationals and Cardinals will finish off a three-game series at Busch Stadium in a rubber match. The two teams split a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday.

As the Nationals fifth starter, Gorzelanny’s first two outings were more than serviceable, but he has had trouble with the longballs. He has given up a home run in each game he has pitched and leads all Nationals pitchers in home runs surrendered with three. Gorzelanny will have his work cut out for him if he is going to keep the ball in the park, as he faces a potent Cardinals lineup that isn’t shy about knocking a few out.

The Nationals offense will square off with Cardinals pitcher Kyle Lohse (2-1, 2.82 ERA), who has gone seven-innings in all three of his starts in 2011 and has a 3-1 record against the Nats since he joined the Cardinals.

Nationals Lineup

Danny Espinosa – 2B

Rick Ankiel – CF

Jayson Werth – RF

Adam Laroche – 1B

Ian Desmond – SS

Michael Morse – LF

Ivan Rodriguez – C

Alex Cora – 3B

Tom Gorzelanny – SP

Read More: Tom Gorzelanny (P – WAS), Kyle Lohse (P – STL), Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals

After a tightly-contested doubleheader that saw the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals battle to a split, the two teams will conclude a three-game series this afternoon with a more traditional meeting at Busch Stadium.

After Tuesday’s opener was rained out, the clubs opened this set on Wednesday afternoon and combined for 24 hits in the Nationals’ 8-6 victory. The offense slowed down a bit in the nightcap, with the Cardinals walking away with a 5-3 triumph.

It marked Washington’s second straight doubleheader. It swept Milwaukee over the weekend by taking both games of a twinbill on Sunday, then snapped an eight-game slide at Busch Stadium by taking the first game on Tuesday. Ian Desmond and Laynce Nix both drove in two runs for the Nationals, with Nix hitting a solo homer in the eighth inning.

Albert Pujols and Colby Rasmus homered for the Cardinals in the first game, while Lance Berkman led the charge in the second game with three hits and a pair of RBI. Berkman and Yadier Molina put St. Louis ahead for good in the nightcap with back-to-back run-scoring singles in the fifth inning.

Mitchell Boggs then capped the bullpen’s effort of four scoreless innings by earning his first career save, giving the Cardinals’ their seventh victory in 10 games.

“As a starting pitcher you try to go six, seven or more (innings),” said St. Louis hurler Jamie Garcia, who pitched five-plus innings in the second game and yielded three runs, one earned. “Anytime your bullpen goes four innings without giving up a run that’s huge.”

Cards manager Tony La Russa opted to go with Boggs in the ninth inning after removing Ryan Franklin from the closer role on Tuesday. Franklin has blown four of his five save chances this season.

With starter John Lannan throwing five-plus innings in the first game and Jordan Zimmermann going six frames in the second contest, Washington remains the only club in the majors to have its starters go at least five innings in every game so far this season. Tom Gorzelanny will try to keep that run intact in his third start of the season this afternoon.

Gorzelanny took a loss in his first outing on April 9, yielding five earned runs over 5 1/3 innings, but pitched much better on Friday versus Milwaukee. He was charged with two runs over six innings of a no-decision, lowering his earned run average on the season from 8.44 to 5.56.

The 28-year-old is 2-4 with a 4.98 ERA in eight career starts against the Cardinals and will try to slow down Berkman, who is hitting .452 (14-for-31) over his past eight games with six homers and 14 RBI. He is 3-for-10 with a pair of RBI versus Gorzelanny and a career .352 batter against the Nats.

Drawing the start for the Cardinals is Kyle Lohse, who has won back-to-back starts at the Giants and Dodgers after losing his season debut on April 4. Lohse has given up just three runs in that span, including two over 7 1/3 innings versus Los Angeles while striking out six to reach 1,000 in his career.

“I didn’t have my best changeup, but overall I felt pretty good,” Lohse said. “I was able to hit my spots. One thousand strikeouts, it feels pretty good. It’s a good feeling to be able to be out there long enough to get it.”

The 32-year-old righty has faced the Nationals franchise 10 times in his career, eight of those starts, and is 3-2 against them with a 5.72 ERA.

Washington and St. Louis split six matchups a year ago.

©2011 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

After a tightly-contested doubleheader that saw the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals battle to a split, the two teams will conclude a three-game series this afternoon with a more traditional meeting at Busch Stadium.

After Tuesday’s opener was rained out, the clubs opened this set on Wednesday afternoon and combined for 24 hits in the Nationals’ 8-6 victory. The offense slowed down a bit in the nightcap, with the Cardinals walking away with a 5-3 triumph.

It marked Washington’s second straight doubleheader. It swept Milwaukee over the weekend by taking both games of a twinbill on Sunday, then snapped an eight-game slide at Busch Stadium by taking the first game on Tuesday. Ian Desmond and Laynce Nix both drove in two runs for the Nationals, with Nix hitting a solo homer in the eighth inning.

Albert Pujols and Colby Rasmus homered for the Cardinals in the first game, while Lance Berkman led the charge in the second game with three hits and a pair of RBI. Berkman and Yadier Molina put St. Louis ahead for good in the nightcap with back-to-back run-scoring singles in the fifth inning.

Mitchell Boggs then capped the bullpen’s effort of four scoreless innings by earning his first career save, giving the Cardinals’ their seventh victory in 10 games.

“As a starting pitcher you try to go six, seven or more (innings),” said St. Louis hurler Jamie Garcia, who pitched five-plus innings in the second game and yielded three runs, one earned. “Anytime your bullpen goes four innings without giving up a run that’s huge.”

Cards manager Tony La Russa opted to go with Boggs in the ninth inning after removing Ryan Franklin from the closer role on Tuesday. Franklin has blown four of his five save chances this season.

With starter John Lannan throwing five-plus innings in the first game and Jordan Zimmermann going six frames in the second contest, Washington remains the only club in the majors to have its starters go at least five innings in every game so far this season. Tom Gorzelanny will try to keep that run intact in his third start of the season this afternoon.

Gorzelanny took a loss in his first outing on April 9, yielding five earned runs over 5 1/3 innings, but pitched much better on Friday versus Milwaukee. He was charged with two runs over six innings of a no-decision, lowering his earned run average on the season from 8.44 to 5.56.

The 28-year-old is 2-4 with a 4.98 ERA in eight career starts against the Cardinals and will try to slow down Berkman, who is hitting .452 (14-for-31) over his past eight games with six homers and 14 RBI. He is 3-for-10 with a pair of RBI versus Gorzelanny and a career .352 batter against the Nats.

Drawing the start for the Cardinals is Kyle Lohse, who has won back-to-back starts at the Giants and Dodgers after losing his season debut on April 4. Lohse has given up just three runs in that span, including two over 7 1/3 innings versus Los Angeles while striking out six to reach 1,000 in his career.

“I didn’t have my best changeup, but overall I felt pretty good,” Lohse said. “I was able to hit my spots. One thousand strikeouts, it feels pretty good. It’s a good feeling to be able to be out there long enough to get it.”

The 32-year-old righty has faced the Nationals franchise 10 times in his career, eight of those starts, and is 3-2 against them with a 5.72 ERA.

Washington and St. Louis split six matchups a year ago.

©2011 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Read More: Albert Pujols (1B – STL), Collin Balester (P – WAS), Jordan Zimmermann (P – WAS), Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals

The Washington Nationals had a break down in pitching, their offense ran out of gas and had an inability to completely capitalize on three St. Louis errors which lead to the Nats losing to the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 at Busch Stadium in Game 2 of a day-night doubleheader. The Nationals won the first game that took place earlier Wednesday afternoon 8-6.

Nationals starter Jordan Zimmermann was able to get two quick outs in the bottom of the fifth, but then walked Albert Pujols. The Cardinals hit three straight singles afterwards to score two runs and break a 3-3 tie. The Cardinals never looked back as the Nationals could not offensively move forward as the Cardinals relief corps shut them down the rest of the way. Zimmermann went six-innings giving up five runs on eight hits, walked two and struck out three while taking the loss.

Wednesday night’s game saw the return of Nationals reliever Collin Balester who pitched two-innings with one hit, one walk and a strikeout. Balester also balked and hit a batter on consecutive pitches, but no damage was done during the inning.

The Nationals face a Rubber Match with the Red Birds on Thursday at 1:45 P.M. EST. The Nationals are now 9-8 and are in third place in the NL East.

Lance Berkman had three hits and two RBIs and the St. Louis Cardinals got four innings of one-hit relief in a 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals, giving them a doubleheader split on Wednesday night.

Laynce Nix homered and drove in two runs in Game 1 for the Nationals, who chased Jake Westbrook with a six-run third inning in an 8-6 victory.

Jaime Garcia (3-0) allowed one earned run in five-plus innings and Colby Rasmus got his fourth RBI of the day as St. Louis snapped Washington’s four-game losing streak in the nightcap. Reserve third baseman Daniel Descalso had three nice defensive plays.

Jason Motte and rookie Eduardo Sanchez combined for nine straight outs and stand-in closer Mitchell Boggs yielded a hit in the ninth before finishing for his first career save.

Jordan Zimmermann (1-3) kept alive the Nationals starters’ streak of working at least five innings in every game, but gave up five runs in six innings in the loss. Zimmermann allowed two earned runs or less in each of his first three outings.

Berkman, the reigning NL player of the week, doubled in a run in the fourth and delivered a run-scoring single for the go-ahead hit in the fifth.

Descalso charged to throw out Jerry Hairston Jr. on a grounder in the third and later in the inning snared Danny Espinosa’s bouncer down the line and threw him out. He foiled another slow roller on Jayson Werth’s run-scoring groundout in the fourth.

The second half of a day-night doubleheader drew a paid attendance of 33,714 and a turnstile count of 28,536, a massive improvement over the opener. A sparse crowd of 8,686 showed up for Game 1 at general admission prices and a sit-anywhere policy to watch the makeup game of a rainout Tuesday night, the franchise’s worst crowd since Sept. 14, 1989, when only 1,519 watched a makeup of a tie game called by rain against the Pirates.

Sloppy play by St. Louis helped the Nationals tie it in Game 2.

Left fielder Matt Holliday camped under and dropped Rick Ankiel’s fly ball to the warning track for a three-base error in the fourth, leading to an unearned run. Espinosa hit an RBI single in the fifth, then went to third on Garcia’s wild pickoff throw for an error before scoring on Ankiel’s single.

The Cardinals regained the lead with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth that began with Albert Pujols’ full-count walk and was capped by run-scoring singles from Berkman and Yadier Molina.

Pujols hit his fifth homer and Colby Rasmus also went deep in the opener. Rasmus had three RBIs, but also grounded into two of the Cardinals’ four double plays. Demoted closer Ryan Franklin retired four straight batters before Nix homered with one out in the eighth on a pitch that caused Franklin to recoil in disgust.

“They hit one ball hard and everything else I made pitches,” Franklin said. “You can’t keep being negative on yourself, you’ve got to try to take something positive out of it.”

Drew Storen allowed a walk while getting the last four outs for his second save in two chances. Espinosa had three hits, including a pair of infield singles.

Westbrook (1-2) has a 9.82 ERA after four starts, allowing 30 hits in only 18 1-3 innings, and is 7-18 for his career in the first month. He gave up seven runs and seven hits in three innings, his shortest outing since May 2, 2007, when he left a start with Cleveland after 1 1-3 innings with an abdominal injury that landed him on the 15-day disabled list.

John Lannan (2-1) was in and out of trouble in five innings, inducing two double-play balls and holding the Cardinals hitless in seven at-bats with men on base. The only damage came on homers by Pujols and Rasmus.

Tyler Clippard got Pujols to fly out with two men on to end the sixth, and struck out pinch-hitters Jon Jay and Descalso to end the seventh with two on base.

Lannan started and ended the third with groundouts, but in between seven straight batters reached, highlighted by Desmond’s two-run single.

NOTES: Lannan is 5-0 in his last six road starts. … Franklin has allowed four homers in 6 2-3 innings after giving up seven all last year in 65 innings. … Ankiel made his first appearance in St. Louis as an opposing player and got a nice ovation before his first at-bat.

Read more: State, Lance Berkman, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals, Nationals, Pro, MLB

(AP) — Lance Berkman had three hits and two RBIs and the St. Louis Cardinals got four innings of one-hit relief in a 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals, giving them a doubleheader split on Wednesday night.

Laynce Nix homered and drove in two runs in Game 1 for the Nationals, who chased Jake Westbrook with a six-run third inning in an 8-6 victory.

Jaime Garcia (3-0) allowed one earned run in five-plus innings and Colby Rasmus got his fourth RBI of the day as St. Louis snapped Washington’s four-game losing streak in the nightcap.

Reserve third baseman Daniel Descalso had three nice defensive plays.

Jason Motte and rookie Eduardo Sanchez combined for nine straight outs and stand-in closer Mitchell Boggs earned his first career save.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Lance Berkman had three hits and two RBIs and the St. Louis Cardinals got four innings of one-hit relief in a 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals, giving them a doubleheader split on Wednesday night.

Laynce Nix homered and drove in two runs in Game 1 for the Nationals, who chased Jake Westbrook with a six-run third inning in an 8-6 victory.

Jaime Garcia (3-0) allowed one earned run in five innings and Colby Rasmus got his fourth RBI of the day as St. Louis snapped Washington’s four-game losing streak in the nightcap. Reserve third baseman Daniel Descalso had three nice defensive plays.

Jason Motte and rookie Eduardo Sanchez combined for nine straight outs and stand-in closer Mitchell Boggs yielded a hit in the ninth before finishing for his first career save.

Jordan Zimmermann (1-3) kept alive the Nationals starters’ streak of working at least five innings in every game, but gave up five runs in six innings in the loss. Zimmermann allowed two earned runs or less in each of his first three outings.

Berkman, the reigning NL player of the week, doubled in a run in the fourth and delivered a run-scoring single for the go-ahead hit in the fifth.

Descalso charged to throw out Jerry Hairston Jr. on a grounder in the third and later in the inning snared Danny Espinosa’s bouncer down the line and threw him out. He foiled another slow roller on Jayson Werth’s run-scoring groundout in the fourth.

The second half of a day-night doubleheader drew a paid attendance of 33,714 and a turnstile count of 28,536, a massive improvement over the opener. A sparse crowd of 8,686 showed up for Game 1 at general admission prices and a sit-anywhere policy to watch the makeup game of a rainout Tuesday night, the franchise’s worst crowd since Sept. 14, 1989, when only 1,519 watched a makeup of a tie game called by rain against the Pirates.

Sloppy play by St. Louis helped the Nationals tie it in Game 2.

Left fielder Matt Holliday camped under and dropped Rick Ankiel’s fly ball to the warning track for a three-base error in the fourth, leading to an unearned run. Espinosa hit an RBI single in the fifth, then went to third on Garcia’s wild pickoff throw for an error before scoring on Ankiel’s single.

The Cardinals regained the lead with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fifth that began with Albert Pujols’ full-count walk and was capped by run-scoring singles from Berkman and Yadier Molina.

Pujols hit his fifth homer and Colby Rasmus also went deep in the opener. Rasmus had three RBIs, but also grounded into two of the Cardinals’ four double plays. Demoted closer Ryan Franklin retired four straight batters before Nix homered with one out in the eighth on a pitch that caused Franklin to recoil in disgust.

“They hit one ball hard and everything else I made pitches,” Franklin said. “You can’t keep being negative on yourself, you’ve got to try to take something positive out of it.”

Drew Storen allowed a walk while getting the last four outs for his second save in two chances. Espinosa had three hits, including a pair of infield singles.

Westbrook (1-2) has a 9.82 ERA after four starts, allowing 30 hits in only 18 1-3 innings, and is 7-18 for his career in the first month. He gave up seven runs and seven hits in three innings, his shortest outing since May 2, 2007, when he left a start with Cleveland after 1 1-3 innings with an abdominal injury that landed him on the 15-day disabled list.

John Lannan (2-1) was in and out of trouble in five innings, inducing two double-play balls and holding the Cardinals hitless in seven at-bats with men on base. The only damage came on homers by Pujols and Rasmus.

Tyler Clippard got Pujols to fly out with two men on to end the sixth, and struck out pinch-hitters Jon Jay and Descalso to end the seventh with two on base.

Lannan started and ended the third with groundouts, but in between seven straight batters reached, highlighted by Desmond’s two-run single.

NOTES: Lannan is 5-0 in his last six road starts. … Franklin has allowed four homers in 6 2-3 innings after giving up seven all last year in 65 innings. … Ankiel made his first appearance in St. Louis as an opposing player and got a nice ovation before his first at-bat.

Read More: Jayson Werth (RF – WAS), Lance Berkman (RF – STL), Rick Ankiel (CF – WAS), Ian Desmond (SS – WAS), Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals

Going into the fifth-inning, the score is 3-1 in favor of the Cardinals in Game 2 of a day-night doubleheader between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Pitchers Jordan Zimmerman and Jaime Garcia were both pitching hot until the bottom of third-inning when the Cardinals drew first blood on a Colby Rasmus RBI single.

The Nationals answered back in the top of the fourth when outfielder Rick Ankiel took advantage of a Cardinals error to get to third base. Jayson Werth came to the plate and was able to bring Ankiel in on a RBI groundout. The Cardinals have committed two errors in the game while the Nationals have committed only one. Shortstop Ian Desmond was the culprit and coupled with the error he had in Game 1, Desmond now leads the Nats with errors with five.

However Zimmermann ran into trouble again in the bottom of the fourth when he gave up a Lance Berkman double to score Matt Holliday who had a lead off walk, followed by Nick Pinto singling in Berkman.

Read More: Jerry Hairston Jr. (SS – WAS), Jayson Werth (RF – WAS), Adam LaRoche (1B – WAS), John Lannan (P – WAS), Rick Ankiel (CF – WAS), Jaime Garcia (P – STL), Collin Balester (P – WAS), Ian Desmond (SS – WAS), Wilson Ramos (C – WAS), Jordan Zimmermann (P – WAS), Danny Espinosa (2B – WAS), Brian Broderick (P – WAS), Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals

The 9-7 Washington Nationals are the National League’s hottest team right now, rolling with a four-game winning streak into the nightcap of a day-night doubleheader with the St. Louis Cardinals. They took the first game of the doubleheader early Wednesday afternoon by the score of 8-6.

The Nationals are hoping starter Jordan Zimmermann (1-2, 2.45 ERA) throws plenty of smoke tonight, as a lot of their bullpen options were exhausted in Game 1. Pitcher John Lannan continued the streak of Nationals pitchers that have pitched five or more innings in each game of the season so far in 2011, and Zimmermann looks to continue that success. Going against Zimmermann will be Jaime Garcia (2-0, 1.35 ERA), who has won two of three of the games he has pitched this season and has only given up three runs.

Catcher Wilson Ramos, outfielder Michael Morse and third baseman Jerry Hairston Jr. will be fresh bodies to oppose the Red Birds, as they were held out of the first game so they might face the left-handed Garcia. In relief, the Nationals have Brian Broderick and Collin Balester ready and waiting for their chance to shut down the Cardinals offense.

A victory Wednesday night would mark the second time this season the Nationals have swept a doubleheader this season. It’ll also put them in second place in the NL East behind the Philadelphia Phillies.

Nationals Line-Up

Danny Espinosa – 2B

Rick Ankiel – CF

Jayson Werth – RF

Adam LaRoche – 1B

Wilson Ramos – C

Michael Morse – LF

Ian Desmond – SS

Jerry Hairston Jr. – 3B

Jordan Zimmermann – SP