CJ Abrams Drills HR, Nationals Pitching Silences Cardinal Bats 3-0

The final game of a three-game series between the Nationals and the Cardinals ended in sorrow as St. Louis struggled to muster any offense, losing 3-0.

Miles Mikolas turned in a beauty, pitching seven solid innings, and allowing eight hits on two runs.

Trevor Williams outpitched Miles, going 6 scoreless himself and allowing only four hits while fanning five.

The bats were quiet until the fifth inning, where CJ Abrams lifted an opposite-field homer in an overall 3-4 effort today.

In the sixth inning, former Tiger Jeimer Candelario came up and doubled home Luis Garcia, who had also reached on a double earlier in the frame. Tommy Edman nearly turned in a strong candidate for the catch of the year, but the ball tipped off of his glove. He nonetheless recovered well, as the relay guys teamed up to gun Candelario down at third.

The Redbirds threatened with ducks on the pond in both the seventh and eighth but were unable to capitalize on the momentum they had. St. Louis finished a combined 0-6 with RISP on the afternoon.

Luis Garcia came up in the eighth and drilled his second double of the game, advanced to third on a wild pitch by Andre Pallante, and scored on an RBI groundout by Candelario.

Hunter Harvey came on in the ninth to shut the door for Washington, salvaging a game for the home team in the series.

St. Louis will be off tomorrow and Friday as they trek across the pond to take on the Cubbies in London. Adam Wainwright (3-1, 5.56 ERA) will take on NL Cy Young candidate Justin Steele (7-2, 2.71 ERA) in the first of a two-game set on Saturday. They’ll return stateside on Tuesday against the reigning World Champion Houston Astros.

Be sure to follow @adamakbani on Twitter for up-to-date news and analysis on the St. Louis Cardinals!