WASHINGTON — Saturday’s Game Report: Nationals 14, Cardinals 6
Less than 24 hours after arguably their best win of the season, the Cardinals suffered one of their worst losses.
C.J. Abrams hit Lance Lynn’s first pitch of the game for a home run and before the second inning was over Saturday in Washington, D.C. the Nationals had hit two more homers and built a 9-0 lead.
Lynn ended up having the worst start of his career, allowing 11 runs in just 2 2/3 innings, as the Nationals coasted the victory.
Here is how Saturday’s game broke down:
At the plate: The Cardinals mounted a brief rally with a four-run third inning and another run in the fourth, but could not match their comeback win from a 5-0 deficit on Friday night … Nolan Gorman had three hits, including two doubles, while Nolan Arenado extended his streak of consecutive hits to six with singles in his first two at-bats … The Cardinals drew seven walks in addition to their 11 hits but only two were able to score as they left 12 runner on base, going 4-of-19 with runners in scoring position.
On the mound: After playing three consecutive extra-inning games, the Cardinals were hoping for some length out of their starting pitcher, Lynn, but didn’t get it. His outing was the shortest of the year for a Cardinals starter, throwing 82 pitches to get eight outs … The Nationals added two runs off Matthew Liberatore and one off Giovanny Gallegos, who combined to pitch the final 5 1/3 innings.
Key stat: The 11 runs were the most allowed by a Cardinals starter since Jaime Garcia gave up 12 in 3 1/3 innings on May 28, 2011 at Colorado.
Worth noting: This was only the second time in Lynn’s 335 career starts that he has allowd 10 or more runs. The other time came on Sept. 24, 2020 when he allowed 10 runs against Houston while pitching for Texas … Despite their winning record, the Cardinals have been outscored by 44 runs so far this season .. The Cardinals are in a stretch of facing five consecutive lefthanded starters, their longest streak since opponents started a lefthander in six consecutive games in 2008.
Looking ahead: Kyle Gibson will get the start on Sunday in the third game of the four-game series which won’t conclude until Monday.
