ST. LOUIS _ Midway through the Cardinals' 6-4 win against the Nationals, the right-field scoreboard flashed an update: The Red Sox had knocked off the Phillies. The final didn't draw cheers from the crowd, but it set up a development that would have seemed foreign just a few weeks ago: the Cardinals' win put them one game out of the second wild-card spot.
Manager Mike Shildt's team has won seven games in a row, and the Cardinals sit just four back of the Cubs in the National League central.
John Gant starred Tuesday, pitching 51/3 innings of one-run ball. His main highlight came as a hitter. He was 0-for-30 at the plate heading into the game, but he ripped a Gio Gonzalez fastball into the left-field seats for the first hit of his career. The blast capped off a three-run second inning for the Cardinals.
Kolten Wong had one of his strongest offensive games of the season, going 3-for-3 with a walk. He drove in two with a double in the fourth, then hit a solo home run in the sixth.
Matt Carpenter extended his on-base streak to 32 games with a walk in the sixth.
The Nationals scored a run off Gant in the fifth when Matt Wieters singled home Juan Soto, and Bryce Harper lofted a two-run homer off Mike Mayers in the eighth.
Dakota Hudson relieved Mayers in the eighth and allowed a run that was charged to Mayers, and Jordan Hicks finished the game with a scoreless ninth. Closer Bud Norris is dealing with a sore right hip.
