WASHINGTON – The St. Louis Cardinals extended their winning streak to seven games by defeating the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Saturday. A significant factor in this streak has been the exceptional performance of their pitching staff. In this latest victory, Andre Pallante anchored the team from the mound, taking a shutout into the eighth inning. Though the Cardinals narrowly missed claiming a third consecutive shutout, their winning streak continued.
The team previously permitted a single run in a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night. That game was followed by a 5-0 triumph against the Pirates and a commanding 10-0 shutout over the Nationals, highlighted by Erick Fedde’s individual brilliance.
On Saturday, the Cardinals got an early advantage by scoring four runs in the second inning. Pallante credited the offensive support for taking the pressure off his pitching. “When your team puts up four runs in the second inning, you can feel them kind of start and deflate with their at-bats,” Pallante noted. “The offense did a great job of taking them out of it.”
This outing represented Pallante’s second-longest career start. Previously, he pitched eight scoreless innings in Washington in 2022. “It was good for him to touch that eighth. He’ll build off of that,” remarked Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol, adding, “From a confidence standpoint, really good.”
However, Pallante’s run ended in the eighth when Dylan Crews hit a two-run homer off him. The Nationals continued to threaten with two men on base against reliever JoJo Romero but failed to score further. Closer Ryan Helsley navigated through a challenging ninth inning, allowing a hit and two walks, but ultimately closed the game successfully.
Despite the rocky finish, Marmol remained unsurprised by Helsley’s performance. “If you look at the shape of the fastball, the velo and actual ride on it, is what we would like it to be compared to other outings,” Marmol explained. Though the outing lacked the desired cleanliness, Marmol identified positive aspects in Helsley’s pitch execution.