Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Pick & Prediction JULY 28th 2024
Preview and Prediction
Juan Yepez, the first baseman for the Washington Nationals, is relishing his return to St. Louis this weekend. "It's always a pleasure to come here," he remarked. "The fans in this city are fantastic and they have always treated me and my family with great kindness."
Yepez, who played for the Cardinals in parts of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, has been on fire in the first two games of the three-game series, going 5-for-9 with five RBIs and three runs. He enters Sunday's series finale at Busch Stadium as one of the hottest hitters in baseball.
"He's been exceptional since his call-up," praised Washington manager Dave Martinez after Saturday's 14-3 victory over St. Louis. "He's doing his job and not trying to do too much. He's hitting the ball all over the field and driving in crucial runs for us. He's playing at a very high level."
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Yepez boasts an impressive .377 batting average and a 1.037 OPS in 18 games since being called up from Triple-A Rochester earlier this month.
"When he steps up to the plate, you just have a feeling he's going to get a hit," said Nationals outfielder Jacob Young to the Washington Post. "He has made a seamless transition from Triple-A to the majors. It's not easy to start off like this."
The Nationals will hand the ball to rookie left-hander DJ Herz (1-4, 4.95 ERA) in hopes of completing a series sweep. In his last start, Herz suffered a tough 4-0 loss to the San Diego Padres, giving up two runs on five hits in five innings while striking out four and walking two.
Herz previously faced the Cardinals on July 7, losing 8-3 after allowing five runs (four earned) in 4 1/3 innings. Nolan Gorman drove in two runs and Dylan Carlson hit an RBI double for St. Louis.
On Saturday, the Nationals reportedly made a trade, sending outfielder Jesse Winker to the New York Mets. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have struggled recently, losing nine of their last 14 games and allowing 24 runs in the first two games of this series.
"These past two days have not been ideal," admitted Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. "But we had a hundred days of great play before this."
Starting for the Cardinals on Saturday will be Miles Mikolas (8-8, 5.02), who is coming off a 6-2 win against the Atlanta Braves. In that game, he held the Braves to two runs on seven hits in six innings, striking out three and walking one. He also induced three double plays.
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"This is a team with a lot of power hitters and big swings up and down the lineup," Mikolas observed. "It's important to keep them hitting the ball on the ground."
Mikolas also shut out the Nationals over 6 1/3 innings in a 6-0 victory on July 8, allowing six hits and striking out three without issuing a walk. In nine career appearances against the Nationals, including eight starts, he has a 4-3 record with a 3.28 ERA.
Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Recap JUL 28TH 2024
Keibert Ruiz hit a three-run homer as the visiting Washington Nationals rolled over the St. Louis Cardinals for a 14-3 victory on Saturday night.
Juan Yepez and Harold Ramirez also drove in three runs apiece for the Nationals in a game that was delayed 2 hours, 4 minutes because of rain. James Wood went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs and Lane Thomas scored three times.
Jesse Winker went 2-for-3 with an RBI for Washington before leaving the game in the sixth due to the fact that he was reportedly traded to the New York Mets.
Nationals starter Jake Irvin (8-8) allowed two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one.
Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who have lost nine of their past 14 games.
St. Louis starter Kyle Gibson (7-4) allowed two runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. He did not record a strikeout.
Washington started the onslaught by moving ahead 1-0 in the second inning. Wood hit a double and later scored on Luis Garcia Jr.'s single.
The Nationals made it 2-0 in the third inning. Thomas hit a single, stole second and scored on Winker's single.
Washington nearly broke the game open in the fourth inning, but Cardinals right fielder Lars Nootbaar made a diving catch on Jacob Young's bases-loaded liner.
The Nationals grabbed a 9-0 lead in the sixth inning. Chris Roycroft walked Trey Lipscomb and Young, then walked Thomas one out later.
Matthew Liberatore relieved Roycroft and allowed Ramirez's two-run double, Yepez's two-run single and Ruiz's three-run homer.
Contreras cut the St. Louis deficit to 9-2 in the bottom of the inning with his two-run homer.
Yepez made it 10-2 in the seventh with an RBI double. Matt Carpenter's RBI single in the eighth trimmed that lead to 10-3.
With Cardinals infielder Brandon Crawford pitching in the ninth inning, Ramirez hit an RBI single, Wood smacked a two-run single and Garcia added an RBI single.