Cardinals, Nationals Set for Rubber Match in D.C.

WASHINGTON (Interstat) — The St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals will decide their three-game series Wednesday afternoon at Nationals Park after splitting the first two contests.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. EDT under clear skies with temperatures around 54 degrees.

The Cardinals (5-5) evened the series with a 2-2 result Tuesday after dropping the opener 9-6 on Monday. St. Louis will turn to right-hander Miles Mikolas (0-2, 6.75 ERA) in search of its first series win in the nation’s capital. Mikolas seeks his initial victory of the young season.

He will be opposed by Nationals right-hander Zack Littell (1-1, 3.60 ERA), who earned the win Monday against these same Cardinals. Littell allowed one earned run on four hits over five innings, striking out six.

A player to watch for St. Louis is third baseman Ramón Urías, who is 4 for 7 with a home run and three RBIs in the series so far. He went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs in Monday’s loss.

For Washington (4-6), third baseman Brady House and outfielder James Wood each homered and combined for five RBIs in Monday’s victory.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, the projected final score is Nationals 6, Cardinals 4. St. Louis has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under is set at 8.5 runs.

Following Wednesday’s game, the Cardinals return home to host the Boston Red Sox for a three-game series starting Friday. The Nationals hit the road for a four-city trip, beginning with three games against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday.