The Washington Nationals erased an early 1-0 deficit with 5 runs in the 4 th inning and 5 more in the 6 th on their way to a 12-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday night at RFK Stadium in the Nation’s Capital.
Ryan Zimmerman led the way for the Nats, slamming a pair of home runs, driving in 3 runs. Brian Schneider also homered for Washington. Adam Kennedy homered for the Cards, his 3 rd , to give St. Louis its only run.
Joel Hanrahan (1-0) pitched 5 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 6 hits, to pick up his first Major League win. Starting Joel Pineiro (1-2), making his St. Louis debut, gave up 5 runs, 4 of them earned, in 5 innings of work to take the loss. Aaron Miles, who usually plays second base for the Cards, came out of the bullpen to mop up in the 8 th inning, pitching a perfect inning.
The Cardinals (50-57) and the Nationals (50-60) wrap up their weekend series Sunday afternoon at RFK Stadium with the Nats going for the sweep. Adam Wainwright (10-8) goes to the mound for Redbirds against Washington’s Matt Chico (5-6).
