A big eighth inning proved to be the difference for the Washington Nationals in a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.
In a game that featured six hits and three errors through the first eight innings, the Washington Nationals capitalized on a break in the eighth inning to preserve the unbeaten streak, downing the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-1, in the rematch.
Washington, now 4-0-1, remains the only unbeaten team in the Grapefruit League and joins the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants as the only teams across baseball to get off to an undefeated start. This also marks the second win over the Cardinals over the last four days after the Nationals opened spring training with a pair of split roster wins on Saturday.
In his first start of spring training, Cade Cavalli threw one strikeout and walked one batter in just 24 pitches across two innings pitched, the norm for Nationals pitchers through spring training. Ken Waldichuk yielded the run in his lone inning pitched while tossing a pair of walks, while Cole Henry tossed a pair of strikeouts on Tuesday night. Riley Cornelio also flashed in the sixth and seventh innings after tossing three strikeouts against one hit allowed.
Once again, it would be Washington to open the scoring after Nasim Nunez opened the order with a walk before stealing second, then advancing to third on a wild pitch. Two at bats later, Nunez reached home after Daylen Lile reached first base safety thanks to an error from the Cardinals.
St. Louis would respond in the top of the third after a walk then single into right field got runners on the corners, setting up a sac bunt for the tiebreaker.
The Cardinals would threaten in the top of the eighth inning with a runner on second with one out, but that did not materialize into anything after Kyle Luckham tossed a strikeout then forced a grounder to end the inning. That would prove costly for St. Louis and be the final break needed for the Nationals.
Like St. Louis, the Nationals would also get runners on the corners with one out after a single and walk, but consecutive walks, followed by a wild pitch with two outs, would give the Nationals a chance to break the deadlock again to take a 4-1 lead.
Centerfielder Cristhian Vaquero then broke the game open after he singled into right field to drive in a pair of runs, extending the late lead to 6-1 in the eventual win.
Vaquero was one of four players to register a hit in the win alongside Keibert Ruiz, Seaver King and Randal Diaz on Tuesday night.
With a chance to remain perfect midway through the first week of spring training, the Nationals will return to action tomorrow, Feb. 25 against the New York Yankees with first pitch set for 6:35 PM. Broadcast will be available on MLB.TV