Tonight's Top 5:
5. Seriously? FLop? No score after two and a half and the Cards' shortstop, the one-time Nats' infielder, Felipe Lopez fouls off a full-count fastball outside and lines a slider Nats' lefty John Lannan leaves up to left center, Nyjer Morgan tracks Lopez's fly ball to the wall and leaps, losing his glove in the flowers planted atop the outfield wall, two-run blast, 2-0 Cards.
4. First And Third No Outs? And Nothing? Cristian Guzman, who'd end the night 3 for 5 with three singles, hit his second of the game in the 4th to lead off the inning against Cards' starter Chris Carpenter, who allows a follow-up single to Ryan Zimmerman to put runners on first and third with no outs. Josh Willingham grounds to third, David Freese fields and throws to second, Guzman freezes at third, Skip Schumaker finishes the double play with the throw to Pujols and the Nats' fail to score a run. Two down. Adam Kennedy grounds to first.
3. Desmond and Bernadina = The Future: Wil Nieves hit his 1st HR of the 2010 season off Chris Carpenter on a 1-0 belt-high 86mph cut fastball in the fifth with the two-out blast cutting the Cards' lead in half. 2-1 St. Louis. Two innings later, Ian Desmond singles to start the seventh and Carpenter hits Roger Bernadina to put two on for Wil Nieves. Sac bunt. Second and third, one down. Willie Harris K's swinging at a brutal cutter inside. Nyjer Morgan lines to second. Nothing again. 2-1 Cardinals.
2. Play Desmond, Every Day: Top of the 8th, 2-1 Cardinals. Ian Desmond vs Chris Carpenter. Two on after Ryan Zimmerman reaches on an error and Josh Willingham's hit in the helmet. Desmond fouls off the first two pitches, down 0-2, but the Nats' 24-year-old shortstop battles back to a full count, taking three straight fastballs, two outside and one low, and Desmond singles to center on the sixth pitch, driving Zimmerman in and tying the game at 2-2...
1. Malfunctioning Invisibility? Nats' lefty John Lannan gives up the two-run HR to Felipe Lopez in the third, and gives up a leadoff single in the fourth, then retires the next nine batters he faces. Another lefty, Sean Burnett, brim tilted slightly, retires the Cardinals in order in the seventh, twelve-straight set down. Nats' righty Tyler Clippard (given his own inning to work with!) gives up a leadoff walk? To Nick Stavinoha? Brendan Ryan's on to run. Clippard recovers, popping Felipe Lopez up, and picking Ryan off!! Two down. 2-2. A slider from Clippard gets to Ryan Ludwick gets launched to left...and GONE! 434ft later it lands in the stands. Solo HR, 3-2 Cards. Ballgame after Ryan Franklin works the ninth. Cards win two in St. Louis.
• Miss The Game? The DC Faithful Were Watching...
• FInal Score, Cards 3-2.
Nationals now 20-20.
FULL GAME REPORT:
1 - Nyjer Morgan lines to right field for the first out of the game against the Cards and right-hander Chris Carpenter. Cristian Guzman shoots a soft liner to left in front of Matt Holliday. Ryan Zimmerman grounds to short, Felipe Lopez to Skip Schumaker to Albert Pujols at first, double play...Felipe Lopez grounds to Ian Desmond at short for the first out of the Cards' first. Ryan Ludwick lines out to third. DC lefty John Lannan gets a fly ball to center from Matt Holliday, no score in the first.
2 - Josh Willingham K's on three pitches, taking a check swing that's called strike three on a bender that falls away from his bat. Chris Carpenter gets a groundout to short from Ian Desmond. Roger Bernadina grounds out to second, and Carpenter's got two scoreless with 21 pitches thrown...Albert Pujols leads off the Cards' second with a single to center on a full count pitch from Lannan. David Freese pulls a curve to left and into Willingham's glove. One out. Albert Pujols gets thrown out going for second. Colby Rasmus lines a two-out single to right. Lannan gets a grounder to short from Yadier Molina, Ian Desmond steps on second.
3 - Wil Nieves goes down swinging. Chris Carpenter gets a fly ball to left from John Lannan and it's quickly two down in the third. Nyjer Morgan bunts toward third and is thrown out by David Freese...Skip Schumaker singles to center to start the bottom of the inning. Carpenter's sac bunt moves Schumaker to second. One out. Felipe Lopez lines to left and deep, Morgan tracks it and leaps at the wall, but comes up empty and loses his glove in the flowers above the wall. 2-0 Cardinals. Roger Bernadina charges in to catch Ludwick's flyout to right. Lannan walks Matt Holliday with two down, but gets a groundout from Pujols to end the third. 2-0 Cardinals.
4 - Cristian Guzman punches a single through second and takes a base with Ryan Zimmerman up when Carpenter throws a wild one. Ryan Zimmerman lines to left center and it gets by a diving Rasmus. Josh Willingham grounds sharply to third, Freese to Schumaker to Pujols, double play. Guzman stuck at third. Adam Kennedy grounds to first, 2-0 Cards in the fourth...David Freese singles to center off Lannan. Colby Rasmus K's, fouling strike three into Nieves' glove. Ryan Zimmerman charges in and throws out Yadier Molina on a weak grounder. Two down. Skip Schumaker goes down chasing a two-strike slider from Lannan.
5 - Ian Desmond grounds to third, one down. Roger Bernadina takes a full-count sinker for a called strike three. Wil Nieves, takes one for a ride!! Line drive to left and no doubt!! HR. Solo shot, 2-1 Cards. Lannan down swinging. 2-1 Cards in the fifth...Lannan gets a groundout from the opposing pitcher, one down. Felipe Lopez grounds back to the mound, Lannan steps and throws after fielding. Ryan Ludwick lines to left, 2-1 Cards after five.
6 - Nyjer Morgan grounds out to second to start the sixth. Cristian Guzman singles for the third time, but he's forced out at second on a throw from David Freese after Freese backhands Zimmerman's sharp grounder. Two down. Willingham lines to center for a two-out single. Adam Kennedy grounds back to the mound, 2-1 in the sixth...Matt Holliday flies out to Bernadina in right. One down. Albert Pujols grounds to Desmond, throw to first, two down. David Freese grounds to second, 2-1 Cards after six.
7 - Ian Desmond reaches on an infield single deep in the hole at short. Roger Bernadina gets hit, and Wil Nieves gets a sac bunt down, second and third for Willie Harris, who hits for Lannan, or more accurately, K's. Nyjer Morgan lines to second, two leadoff runners wasted...Sean Burnett takes over for DC. Colby Rasmus flies out to right. So does Yadier Molina. Two down. Skip Schumaker grounds to the mound, Burnett stabs it and throws to first.
8 - Cristian Guzman flies out to center, one down. Ryan Zimmerman reaches on a fielding error by Skip Schumaker. Josh Willingham gets hit in the head with a curve. Two on, one out. Adam Kennedy flies out to left. Two down for Desmond. Ian Desmond battles back from 0-2 to a full count and rips a single up the middle to score Zim and tie it at 2-2! Roger Bernadina grounds back to the mound...Tyler Clippard takes over for Washington against Nick Stavinoha and issues a leadoff walk. Felipe Lopez flies out unproductively to center. One down. Tyler Clippard picks Stavinoha's pinch runner, Brendan Ryan off first. Two down. Ryan Ludwick takes Clippard deeep to left and gone. 3-2 Cards. Clippard walks Matt Holliday. Albert Pujols walks. David Freese flies out to right.
9 - Ryan Franklin vs Wil Nieves. Grounder to third, Freese slides to get it, pops up and throws Nieves out. Pudge Rodriguez reaches on an error by Schumaker. Nyjer Morgan grounds into a force at second, but beats the throw to first. Two down. Cristian Guzman lines out to first, ballgame. 3-2 Cards.
Nationals now 20-20.