Cardinals rally against Nationals' struggling bullpen for 7-6 victory in 10 innings

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Thomas Saggese hit a go-ahead double in the 10th inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 7-6 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.

Nathan Church and Jordan Walker homered for St. Louis. The Cardinals scored five runs against the Nationals’ scuffling bullpen, which entered the day ranked 28th in the majors with a 6.34 ERA.

James Wood homered for a third consecutive game for the first time in his career for Washington, which has dropped six of seven.

Saggese laced Cole Henry’s sweeper to center to score automatic runner Masyn Winn to lead off the 10th. Three batters later, JJ Wetherholt doubled to right off Henry (0-2) to score Saggese.

George Soriano (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings. Riley O’Brien allowed automatic runner Daylen Lile to score on a wild pitch but struck out Nasim Nuñez on the next pitch to earn his third save.

Walker’s solo shot off PJ Poulin in the seventh pulled the Cardinals within 5-3. Nationals reliever Gus Varland nearly worked around a leadoff walk in the eighth, but Church ripped a 1-2 slider into the Washington bullpen in right to tie it.

It was Church’s first extra-base hit in 27 at bats. He entered the game with a .115 average and a .264 OPS.

Wood scored on Lile’s RBI single in the first, then led off the third with an opposite-field blast into the visitor’s bullpen in left to tie it at 2-all.

Curtis Mead gave the Nationals the lead with a one-out shot to left-center in the fifth, and CJ Abrams made it 4-2 with a run-scoring single to right. Mead added an RBI single in the sixth.

Nationals starter Cade Cavalli allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Cardinals’ Matthew Liberatore allowed four runs in five innings.

Washington RHP Miles Mikolas (0-2, 14.46 ERA) faces his old team for the first time in Wednesday’s series finale. RHP Michael McGreevy (0-1, 2.53) starts for St. Louis.

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