Harper helps Nats down Cards, snap 4-game skid

[August 17, 2018]  Bryce Harper finished with three hits and three RBIs, and starter Tanner Roark helped with both pitching and hitting as the Washington Nationals defeated the host St. Louis Cardinals 5-4 Thursday night at Busch Stadium.

The victory snapped a four-game Washington losing streak that had dropped the Nationals to 6 1/2 games behind the second National League wild-card spot.

Harper finished 3-for-5. Roark had hits in his first two at-bats and went 2-for-3, scoring two runs.

The right-hander also continued his late-season turnaround on the mound, scoring a fifth consecutive victory and improving to 8-12 this season. Roark gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits in six innings and now has allowed eight runs overall in his last five starts, all of which have been wins.

Justin Miller then threw two shutout innings before Koda Glover came on and closed it in the ninth. That gave Glover his first 2018 save in just his fourth appearance of the season. He missed most of the year due to shoulder problems.

St. Louis starter Luke Weaver (6-11) lasted just 3 2/3 innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on seven hits.

Harper started the scoring for Washington with an RBI double in the first. Anthony Rendon's RBI single gave the Nationals a 2-0 lead in the top of the third.

 Cardinals starting pitcher Tyson Ross (33) pitches during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Harrison Bader hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning that cut St. Louis' deficit to 2-1. The Nationals then answered with Harper's two-run single in the top of the fourth.

Roark started that rally with a two-out single to center and later scored on the Harper hit. The Nationals stretched it to 5-1 in the fifth when St. Louis pitcher Tyson Ross made an error trying to field Adam Eaton's soft grounder near the mound, which let a run score.

The Cardinals rallied in the sixth, scoring three times. Paul DeJong (RBI single) and Kolten Wong (RBI double) each drove in a run, and third baseman Rendon's two-out error made it 5-4.

Three St. Louis errors helped the Nationals score three unearned runs.

--Field Level Media

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