WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals (3-6) were able to finish their road trip on a positive note with a series win against the St. Louis Cardinals early this week.
In the first game of the series, new additions Kyle Schwarber and Josh Bell were key parts of the offense for DC and helped guide the team to a 5-2 victory.
Things did not go as smoothly in game two, the Cardinals took it to Nats and won 14-3. Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg had one of his worst performances in recent memory surrendering seven earned runs across for innings pitched, with five walks on balls and three strikeouts. Nationals reliever Luis Avilan struggled as well surrendering six earned runs in one inning of work. The poor performance and noticeable loss in velocity on his fastball sparked questions of Strasburg's health.
For more on the Nats listen to the Locked On Nationals podcast.
In the series finale, Joe Ross tossed six scoreless innings, striking out five Cardinals. Ross has yet to surrender a run this year through 11 innings of work. Ryan Zimmerman's two-run homer put the Nats up in the third inning and they never looked back. Trea Turner, Juan Soto. and Josh Harrison all had multi-hit games as the Nats cruised to a 6-0 victory.
The Nationals will begin a four-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, which will kick off a seven-game homestand at Nationals Park.
Following their series with the Diamondbacks, the Cardinals will make the trip to Nats Park for a three-game set starting next Monday.
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