WASHINGTON — Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty pulled it together after he gave up five early runs, and he somehow managed to still be standing on the mound in the seventh inning with the his club leading by multiple runs.
Flaherty allowed six or more runs for the eighth time in his career, but came out on the winning end for just the second time as the Cardinals bounced back from their early deficit to beat the Washington Nationals 8-6 in the first game of a three-game series at Nationals Park on Monday afternoon.
The Cardinals (30-43) won their third straight game, and they rallied to win after trailing by five or more runs for the first time since they came back to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 13, 2022.
The last time they rallied from a deficit of five or more to win on the road was against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 23, 2021.
Flaherty, who surpassed 600 career innings pitched in the outing, improved to 25-0 when he received four runs of support or more. He allowed six runs on 10 hits and one walk in 6 1/3 innings. He also struck out five. Despite the early trouble, he made it into the seventh inning and threw just shy of 100 pitches (99).
Tommy Edman went 2-for-2 with a triple, two walks and three runs scored.
Cardinals leadoff hitter Brendan Donovan went 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, and Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs.
Donovan’s home run tied the score in the fifth inning. He has now hit 11 of his 13 career home runs when the Cardinals are either tied for trailing.
Jordan Walker (2-for-4) and Paul DeJong (2-for-4) also registered multi-hit games.
Catcher Willson Contreras snapped an 0-for-12 at the plate with runners in scoring position with a seventh-inning RBI single. The Cardinals went 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Reliever Jordan Hicks pitched a scoreless ninth inning and recorded a save for the third consecutive game.
Long ball powered Cardinals rally
The Cardinals trailed 5-2 going into the fifth inning thanks to an Edman RBI triple and a Goldschmidt RBI single in the third inning.
They took the lead on the strength of a four-run fifth inning that featured four hits, including back-to-back home runs.
DeJong’s leadoff double followed by an Edman single brought the tying run to the plate in the form of Donovan. Nationals starter Josiah Gray tried to sneak a 95-mph fastball over the inside corner, but Donovan blasted it into the right field stands for a game-tying three-run homer.
Goldschmidt stepped into the batter’s box next, and he hammered a 2-2 curveball 406 feet into the left field stands to give the Cardinals their first lead of the day.
Waker keeps the streak alive
Rookie outfielder Jordan Walker extended his hitting streak to 12 consecutive games with a second-inning single up the middle. That matched the longest hitting streak of his career. He started his MLB career on a 12-game hitting streak.
He entered the day with the second-longest active hitting streak in the majors behind Los Angeles Angels start Shohei Ohtani (15 games).
Walker has now hit safely in 30 of 36 games this season and continued his string of having at least one hit against each opponent he faced this season.
Flaherty gave up five fast
Flaherty allowed five runs on eight hits, including three doubles, in the first two innings in an outing that seemed sure to press the Cardinals bullpen into early action.
The Nationals scored three first inning runs, including one run after the first two batters of the game. A leadoff double by former Cardinal Lane Thomas immediately put a runner in scoring position. Then a wild pitch allowed Thomas to advance to third base.
Thomas scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Garcia, and the Nationals tacked on runs via a two-run, two-out single by Corey Dickerson, another former Cardinal. The Cardinals trailed 3-0 after the first inning.
The Nationals did their best not to let Flaherty up off the matt in the second inning. Three straight one-out hits from CJ Abrams, Thomas and Garcia increased the lead to five runs.
Abrams singled and Thomas’s double to left field put runners on second and third. Garcia then singled to right field to drive in both runners. Donovan threw out Garcia at second base as he tried to stretch the single into a double.
A diving catcher by Tommy Edman recorded the third out of the inning.
Beginning with Edman’s catch, Flaherty retired 13 of the next 15 batters he faced.
