Nationals 1 - 4 Cardinals
Final
  for this game

Cards top Nationals on another Adams homer

Jun 15, 2014 - 3:28 AM St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - For the second straight night, Matt Adams decided a terrific pitcher's duel between the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals with his bat.

Adams' solo homer off Stephen Strasburg in the seventh inning produced the go-ahead run in the Cardinals' 4-1 triumph over the Nationals at Busch Stadium, a game that featured another outstanding performance by a St. Louis hurler.

"He's got a good fastball," Adams said of Strasburg. "He uses it a lot so I was just looking for a ball middle-in and a little bit elevated and he left it there."

Shelby Miller didn't receive the victory in Saturday's matchup, exiting with the game tied at 1-1 and the bases loaded with two out in the top of the seventh. The young right-hander matched Strasburg nearly pitch-for-pitch, however, holding the Nationals to a run on four hits while fanning seven.

The effort came one day after Lance Lynn yielded just two hits over eight scoreless frames in St. Louis' 1-0 verdict over Washington, with Adams providing the only run with another solo shot.

Randy Choate (1-2) got out of the seventh-inning jam by retiring Denard Span and setting up Adams' latest heroics.

Strasburg (6-5) was dominant for most of the evening, but he and the Nationals faltered during a three-run bottom of the seventh that Adams -- in just his second game back from the disabled list -- began by drilling a fastball on a 3-1 count into the Cardinal bullpen.

"The last three games it just hasn't been there for us," said Nationals manager Matt Williams. "If we know anything we can turn it around in a hurry."

The Washington ace regrouped to retire the next two hitters, but was later pulled when Jon Jay extended the inning with an infield hit. Relievers Jerry Blevins and Drew Storen then combined for two walks and a hit batsman to force in a run, with Allen Craig's single plating Matt Carpenter for a 4-1 advantage.

Strasburg was charged with three runs in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Washington had a chance to move in front in its half of the seventh, with Strasburg aiding the cause by working a two-out walk against Miller that followed a free pass to Jose Lobaton and loaded the bases. Choate then entered and got Span to bounce into a force play on the only pitch he threw, keeping the game at 1-1.

The Nationals put a runner on against Trevor Rosenthal in the ninth, but the St. Louis closer kept Ryan Zimmerman at first to record his 19th save.

Miller struggled early on, surrendering a first-inning single to Anthony Rendon in front of Jayson Werth's sharp double into right-center field that knocked in the game's initial run. He didn't allow another hit until the fifth, however, setting down 11-of-13 Nationals after Werth's smash.

Strasburg opened the contest with eight straight outs prior to Miller's two- out double in the third, with Carpenter sending Miller home with a single up the middle.

Game Notes

The loss was the sixth in a row for the Nationals at Busch Stadium, where they've gone a woeful 2-17 since 2008 ... Strasburg is winless (0-2) in four career starts against St. Louis ... Washington had been 17-4 this season when scoring in the first inning ... The Cardinals announced prior to the game that ace Adam Wainwright will not make Monday's scheduled start against the Mets due to tendinitis in his right elbow ... Craig finished 2-for-4.






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