Preview: Cardinals at Nationals

[April 21, 2015]  The St. Louis Cardinals look to extend their winning streak to six when they visit the Washington Nationals on Tuesday to start a six-game road trip. St. Louis leads the majors in ERA at 1.91 after giving up six runs during their five-game burst and will attempt to cool off the Nationals, who have won four of their five outings.

Lance Lynn gets the start for the Cardinals, who are coming off a three-game sweep of Cincinnati that was capped by a strong eight-inning performance from ace Adam Wainwright in a 2-1 win Sunday night. Washington should be a test for the St. Louis staff after posting 44 runs in the last eight contests. Ryan Zimmerman is batting just .184 overall for the Nationals while producing a team-leading 11 RBIs – eight in the last five games. Washington shortstop Ian Desmond has struggled in the field with eight errors, but is 13-of-25 with four RBIs over the last six games at the plate.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), MASN (Washington)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Lance Lynn (1-1, 1.64 ERA) vs. Nationals LH Gio Gonzalez (1-1, 5.11)

Lynn went five innings in his last start, falling short of six for only the second time in 18 regular-season outings, but gained the victory over Milwaukee while giving up one run. The 27-year-old has struck out 13 and walked just two in 11 innings this season while pushing his record to 13-2 with a 2.65 ERA in April during his career. Danny Espinosa is 3-for-8 with a pair of homers versus Lynn, who went 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA in two starts against Washington last year.

Gonzalez battled through six innings in his last start to gain a 10-5 victory over Boston while allowing five runs (four earned) and six hits. The 29-year-old Hialeah, Fla. native, who had 73 wins in his previous five seasons, has walked six in 12 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts. Jon Jay is 3-of-6 and Jason Heyward has four RBIs against Gonzalez, who won his only meeting with St. Louis last year and is 2-1 with a 1.17 ERA lifetime versus the Cardinals.

WALK OFFS

1. Washington CF Denard Span went 1-of-5 with a run scored in his season debut after returning from surgery on his right core muscle.

2. The Cardinals have managed only six homers, tied with Philadelphia for 28th in the majors.

3. Nationals RHP Drew Storen is 4-of-4 in save opportunities, allowing one run and four hits with five strikeouts in five innings of work.

PREDICTION: Cardinals 4, Nationals 3

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