The Washington Nationals’ rare 3-game winning streak came crashing down last night after losing to the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1, at Busch Stadium. Tonight the two clubs will play the third game of their 4-game set. The Cardinals have a comfortable 8½ game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the NL Central. They are 80-56 overall and 46-23 at home. Tonight they are expected to give the nod to southpaw Jordan Montgomery. He is proving to the Yankees that it was a huge mistake trading him. He is 8-3 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Since joining the Cardinals, Monty is a perfect 5-0 with an ERA of only 1.47, a 0.93 WHIP, and St. Louis is 6-0 in his 6 starts. The Nats are 48-88 overall, 26-41 on the road, and reside dead last in the NL East. Tonight they are expected to send Cory Abbott to the bump. Abbott is 0-2 with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. The Nationals’ bats had better be clicking because they are just 5-22 in their last 27 on the road against a left-handed starter. St. Louis is better by far, 1 through 9, and should come out on top.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS