Central STL News

For the St. Louis Cardinals, patience paid off in their series-opening win against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. The game was delayed by rain for two hours and 19 minutes but ended with a 4-2 victory for the Cardinals.

Manager Oliver Marmol commented on the uncertainty of the game's start, saying, “We weren’t sure if we were getting this one in. The guys stayed ready."

The win marked a season series victory over Washington, as the Cardinals had previously swept them at Nationals Park earlier in May.

Brendan Donovan hit a two-run homer to tie the game after Washington initially took the lead. Alec Burleson then drove in Masyn Winn with a double that secured the win. Lars Nootbaar added a solo home run later to finalize the score.

Sonny Gray started for St. Louis and pitched five innings, allowing only two earned runs while striking out six hitters. He expressed doubt about whether he would start due to weather concerns but managed to secure his ninth win of the season.

Steven Matz, Phil Maton, JoJo Romero, and Ryan Helsley each contributed shutout innings from the bullpen to seal St. Louis's second win in their last seven games.

Gray admitted that he was spent after five innings: “I just told Oli after the fifth, I was like, ‘I’m done.’” He praised his teammates' performance in maintaining their lead.

The Cardinals have faced weather challenges this season and were keen to avoid another doubleheader, having already played six this year – more than any other MLB team.

Gray summed up their relief: “We’ll probably be pretty happy that we’re not playing a doubleheader tomorrow.”

Donovan shared similar sentiments about avoiding an extra game: “I’m very, very happy that it’s not a doubleheader,” he said with satisfaction.