|
 Wong had three hits, including a two-run homer, but there was little
doubt which side of the ball he enjoyed more.
"Definitely defense. Defense is a lot of fun," said Wong, standing
by his locker. "That is when you are having a good time playing
backyard baseball. Today was my night. I was able to contribute to
the win."
Wong ranged to his right and threw out Washington third baseman
Yunel Escobar from short center field to end the fifth inning. Then
he threw out slow-footed catcher Wilson Ramos on a similar play to
begin the last of the sixth.
"Two of the better defensive plays we have seen at second base,"
said Mike Matheny, the St. Louis manager. "He has incredible range.
He had a huge day."
Besides his homer, Wong, 24, drilled an RBI double down the
left-field line with one out in the eighth against young reliever
Blake Treinen (0-2) to make it 6-5. The hit scored center fielder
Jon Jay, who walked and went to third on a single by catcher Yadier
Molina (two hits).
"Blake is a tremendous pitcher," said Washington starter Doug
Fister, whose ERA rose from 0.69 to 2.37 after he allowed four
earned runs in six innings. "He really has some great stuff. He is
going through some growing pains. He has a great upside."
St. Louis first baseman Matt Adams (two hits) drilled a solo homer
in the ninth against Rafael Martin to give the Cardinals an
insurance run.
"He made up for it today," Matheny said of Adams, who had a tough
day on defense Tuesday.
The winning pitcher was Kevin Siegrist (1-0), who did not allow a
run in 1 1/3 innings. Trevor Rosenthal pitched a perfect ninth for
his fifth save.
"Seth did a very good job to get the ball to Rosy," Matheny said of
Seth Maness, who threw a scoreless eighth.
St. Louis (9-4) won for the sixth time in seven games while the
Nationals (7-8) lost for just the second time in six games. The
Cardinals won for the 15th time in their past 22 games against the
Nationals.
"I'm proud of the guys for fighting," Washington manager Matt
Williams said. "It's one of those days where you could just easily
fold the tent and say it's not our day, but they came back and made
a game of it. We had a chance."
Fister was replaced in the seventh by Matt Grace, a UCLA product who
made his big league debut by retiring three of four batters in his
lone inning.
"I was trying to get early contact. I just got beat. They obviously
made me pay for it," Fister said of the homers he gave up to third
baseman Matt Carpenter in the first and Wong in the second.
Wong said he was looking for a two-seam fastball inside.
"I anticipated it coming. I put a good swing on it," he said. "This
is huge for us."
John Lackey went 5 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits and five runs,
the worst outing by a Cardinals starter this year. Washington first
baseman Ryan Zimmerman had two infield hits.
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The Nationals scored five runs in the third inning to tie the score
at 5-5 against Lackey, who had not allowed a run in his previous 12
innings.
Washington left fielder Jayson Werth had a sacrifice fly, Zimmerman
singled home a run, and Escobar drove in three runs with a two-out
double with the bases loaded.
The Cardinals had taken a 5-0 lead in the top of the third after
Adams had an RBI double and then scored when Zimmerman misplayed a
grounder off the bat of Jay.
Wong hit a two-run homer with two outs in the third to give the
Cardinals a 3-0 lead. Molina singled before Wong's blast.
Carpenter led off the game with a home run to right on a 2-2 pitch
up in the zone from Fister.
Lackey collected the 1,800th strikeout of his career when he fanned
shortstop Ian Desmond for the first out in the first inning.
Washington had not scored more than three runs in a game against the
Cardinals in the previous eight meetings.
"Any win we can get here is pretty good," Matheny said. "I just see
fight (in his team). That is what I see."
NOTES: The Nationals traded LHP Xavier Cedeno to the Los Angeles
Dodgers for cash considerations. ... The Nationals called up LHP
Matt Grace from Triple-A Syracuse and placed LHP Felipe Rivero on
the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 18. ... The scheduled
starters for the series finale Thursday are Washington RHP Max
Scherzer (1-0, 0.83 ERA) and St. Louis RHP Michael Wacha (2-0,
1.35). Scherzer, a St. Louis native, last faced his hometown team in
2009 when he pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks. ... Washington
INF Yunel Escobar, whose walk-off homer beat St. Louis 2-1 on
Tuesday, hit his previous walk-off homer in 2010. ... St. Louis OF
Matt Holliday entered Wednesday with a hit in his first 12 games
this season, but he went 0-for-4. ... Washington INF Anthony Rendon,
who went on the disabled list April 5 with a left knee sprain, is
slated to begin a rehab assignment Friday with Double-A Harrisburg,
Nationals manager Matt Williams said.
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