WASHINGTON — A trio of home runs from Lars Nootbaar, Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado powered the Cardinals past the Nationals in a 6-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Nationals Park to extend their winning streak to eight games, matching the Dodgers for the longest win streak this season.
On the fifth pitch of the game, Nootbaar turned on a fastball from MacKenzie Gore inside the zone and drove it to the second deck in right field with an exit velocity of 108.1 mph for his seventh career leadoff home run and his sixth homer this season.
The long ball proved to be contagious early in the game, as Contreras sent a hanging breaking ball a Statcast-projected 406 feet to the power alley in left-center for a solo homer and a 2-0 Cardinals lead in the top of the second. The home run was Contreras’ sixth of the season and extended his on-base streak to 23 games, which is the second-longest streak in the National League this season.
Right-hander Miles Mikolas toed the slab for the Cardinals on Sunday, and he showcased his efficiency with 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts. His lone blemish of the start was in the fourth inning, when he allowed an opposite-field solo homer to Nathaniel Lowe to pull Washington within one at 2-1.
Leading by one run, the Cardinals were able to create some separation with four runs over the seventh and eighth innings. After a pair of RBI singles from Yohel Pozo and Victor Scott II in the seventh, Arenado delivered a two-run jack in the eighth inning that drifted over left fielder James Wood and landed in the visitors’ bullpen for a Statcast-projected distance of 385 feet.
St. Louis’ bullpen trio of Steven Matz, Phil Maton and John King provided 3 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to cement the 6-1 victory and extend the winning streak.
