Cardinals 2 - 3 Nationals
Final
  for this game

Cards take their swings against Strasburg

Apr 20, 2014 - 11:12 AM (SportsNetwork.com) - Stephen Strasburg tries to bounce back from his second loss of the season when he leads the Washington Nationals against the St. Louis Cardinals in the conclusion of a four-game series.

Strasburg gave up eight hits and six runs in only four innings of an 11-2 loss at Miami on Tuesday. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals.

Shelby Miller counters for the Cardinals, who have taken two of the three contests in this set at Nationals Park. The righty is unbeaten in his career when facing the Nationals, as he sports a 2-0 mark and 0.71 ERA in two starts. Miller logged his first win of 2014 on Tuesday with six solid innings at Milwaukee.

On Saturday, Tony Cruz had two hits and two RBI and the Cardinals won, 4-3. Jon Jay also had two hits while starter Lance Lynn (4-0) and Matt Holliday drove in a run apiece for St. Louis, winners in six of eight. Lynn lasted 5 2/3 innings, yielding just a run on five hits.

"I'm not going to lie, my stuff was better today than it's been all year," said Lynn. "That's the disappointing thing about the way the game finished for me today. That's the best stuff I've had all year."

Washington's Bryce Harper was pulled for not running out a grounder in the bottom of the sixth.

"He and I made an agreement that when we play the game, we hustle at all times," said Nationals manager Matt Williams. "As it turned out, his spot came up. Kevin Frandsen put on a nice AB against (Trevor) Rosenthal, but his spot came up with the ability to win the game. That's a shame for his teammates."

Denard Span had a pair of hits in his return to the Washington lineup. The Nationals' leadoff hitter was removed from the 7-day concussion DL before the game.

Jordan Zimmermann (1-1) was the unlucky loser after tossing seven strong innings. Zimmermann struck out six and allowed four runs -- one earned -- on seven hits.

The Cardinals have won nine of the last 10 games against the Nationals.






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