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National League Baseball: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals

The St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals will continue their four-game series on Wednesday night. This series is extremely important for both teams, but it’s been the Cardinals who have taken advantage. St. Louis has won the first two games over the Nationals, winning the series opener in dramatic fashion.

The Cardinals have now won seven straight games to get themselves right back in the playoff hunt. St. Louis is now just 1.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the second Wild Card spot in the National League. The Nationals are heading the wrong direction, and are now 6.5 games out in the Wild Card race. The St. Louis Cardinals are -112 over the Nationals on Wednesday night.

Carpenter Playing Like MVP For Cardinals

Veteran first baseman Matt Carpenter is having the best season of his career for the Cardinals. In the series opener on Monday, Carpenter blasted a three run homer to give the Cardinals a late lead over the Nationals. After a slow start to the season, Carpenter has caught fire and has been hitting the ball out of the ballpark at a historic rate. His 33 home runs lead the National League, and he has vaulted to the top of the MVP race in the NL.

Young Austin Gomber will start for the Cardinals on Wednesday night. Gomber is just one of a slew of young pitching prospects that have propelled the Cardinals on this improbable run of late. The lefty is 2-0 with a 3.45 earned run average for the Cardinals while pitching as both a starter and reliever for St. Louis this season. He will look to shut down a struggling Nationals lineup on Wednesday.

Nationals Bullpen Crumbling

The Nationals bullpen has been extremely shaky of late, and it is costing them games. Washington lost back to back games on walk off home runs prior to the 6-4 loss on Tuesday. Nationals closer Sean Doolittle is on the disabled list, and Washington recently put his replacement, Ryan Madson on the DL as well. The Nationals must find a way to close out games if they are going to make a run at the playoffs.

Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy have done their best to lead the Nationals offense, but it hasn’t been enough. Harper his a two-run homer in Tuesday’s loss, and Murphy had a clutch single in the 9th inning of game 1. If the Nationals are going to win on Wednesday, look for these two players to have a big game.

Cardinals Win Eighth Straight

This series features two teams that are headed in very opposite directions. The Nationals appear to be close to folding it in for the season, and a few more losses to the Cardinals might do the trick. Washington has a ton of talent, but they haven’t been able to consistently win games this season.

St. Louis has taken off after firing manager Mike Matheny. The Cardinals are the hottest team in baseball right now, and should stay hot with a win on Wednesday night. Look for the Cardinals to earn their 7th straight victory in this game. Bet the St. Louis Cardinals -112 over the Nationals.

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