Nathaniel Lowe hit a three-run homer to power the visiting Washington Nationals past the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 on Wednesday night and give interim manager Miguel Cairo his first victory.
Jacob Young drove in two runs before Amed Rosario and James Wood hit homers as the Nationals snapped a four-game losing streak.
Starter MacKenzie Gore (4-8) held the Cardinals to one run on five hits in six innings to earn his first victory since June 4 and second since April 19. He struck out seven batters and walked one.
Cairo, who had been the team’s bench coach, began his stint as interim manager on Tuesday against St. Louis, which spoiled his debut with a 4-2 win. Cairo replaced Dave Martinez, who was fired along with general manager Mike Rizzo on Sunday.
Masyn Winn went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Cardinals, who lost for the sixth time in eight games.
St. Louis starter Andre Pallante (5-5) allowed seven runs on eight hits in six innings. The right-hander walked one and struck out one batter.
Washington broke out to a 3-0 first-inning lead on a double by CJ Abrams, a walk to Josh Bell and Lowe’s homer.
The Cardinals cut the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the inning. Willson Contreras hit a two-out double and scored on Alec Burleson’s single.
The Nationals extended their lead to 6-1 in the fourth inning. Bell hit a double leading off, then moved to third on Lowe’s infield single and scored on Alex Call’s double. Brady House loaded the bases with an infield single before Young popped a two-run single down the first base line.
The Cardinals threatened with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Yohel Pozo walked and Lars Nootbaar followed with a single, but Gore struck out Pedro Pages to strand them.
Rosario’s fifth-inning homer, measured at 434 feet, increased Washington’s lead to 7-1, and Wood’s 433-foot homer in the seventh inning made it 8-1.
St. Louis got a run back in the bottom half of the frame when Nootbaar hit a double and scored on Winn’s single.
–Field Level Media
