Cards go for 8th straight win in series finale vs. Nats

The St. Louis Cardinals bring the majors' longest current winning streak into the series finale on Sunday afternoon against the host Washington Nationals.

St. Louis won its seventh in a row on Saturday, and a win on Sunday would mark the club's longest streak since winning eight straight Aug. 14-22, 2022. The Minnesota Twins also bring a seven-game win streak into Sunday's action.

After a 14-19 start, the Cardinals have used a string of impressive pitching performances to pull within two games of the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs.

Andre Pallante hurled 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball Saturday, stamping a stretch of four straight games with a Cardinals starter allowing two runs or fewer.

"It was another good game on all sides," St. Louis manager Oliver Marmol said. "We did some work on (Nationals starter Trevor) Williams early, and then we made some nice diving plays defensively. All sides are clicking and it's been fun to watch. ... (Our starters) have done a nice job.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, to be honest. They're committed to using their stuff the way they know it plays. They've done a nice job at understanding who's in the box, and worked really well with our catchers."

Miles Mikolas (1-2, 4.76 ERA), in his eighth start of the year, will look to continue the staff's sizzling run on Sunday. On Monday, the veteran right-hander allowed three runs across five innings in a no-decision against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 6-3 Cardinals win.

Mikolas is 4-3 with a 3.42 ERA in 10 career appearances (nine starts) against Washington.

The Nationals are trending in the opposite direction, having lost four straight. Washington has been outscored 14-2 through the first two games of the weekend set, prolonging a run of subpar play for manager Davey Martinez's club.

"Two things need to happen," Martinez said. "We need to stop walking and hitting guys, and offensively, we need to start accepting walks. It's the bottom line. We need to accept our walks and stop chasing pitches. That's how we're going to get runs; it's how we're going to come back and start winning games."

Washington recorded just one extra-base hit on Saturday and struck out eight times, dropping the club's batting average to .240. The Nationals' ERA sits at 5.43 - third worst in the majors.

MacKenzie Gore (2-3, 3.33) takes the mound on Sunday, searching for his second win at Nationals Park this season. The left-hander leads the team with 68 strikeouts - nine of which came in a no-decision last Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds. Gore allowed just one run in five innings in a no-decision in a 4-1 Washington win.

Gore will aim to fare better against the Cardinals, as he's 0-1 with a 10.05 ERA in three career starts vs. St. Louis.

--Field Level Media