St. Louis Cardinals vs Washington Nationals, September 20, 2026

NationalsWSH
3-5
Final
CardinalsSTL

September 20, 2026, 2:15 PM ET | Busch Stadium

Last 5 Form

Washington Nationals

3-2

Last 5
W 6-3
vs PHI
L 0-3
vs PHI
W 9-1
@ STL
W 8-5
@ STL
L 3-5
@ STL

St. Louis Cardinals

1-4

Last 5
L 3-10
vs SF
L 5-6
vs SF
L 1-9
vs WSH
L 5-8
vs WSH
W 5-3
vs WSH

Starting Pitchers

Washington Nationals

Jake Irvin headshot
Jake Irvin
Recorded starter

St. Louis Cardinals

Quinn Mathews headshot
Quinn Mathews
Recorded starter

Standings Snapshot

Full standings
Season recordsRecord, division and wild card rank, games back. Standings as of Sep 20, 11:25 PM ET
TeamW-LPCTDivWCGB
Washington Nationals73-83.468#4#819.0
St. Louis Cardinals76-80.487#4#722.0
PCT
winning percentage
Div
division rank
WC
wild card rank
GB
games back

Season Comparison

2026
Washington NationalsSt. Louis Cardinals
.744
OPS
.691
210
HR
167
821
Runs
720
4.67
ERA
4.26
1.39
WHIP
1.36
1283
Strikeouts by pitchers
1278

Lower is better for ERA and WHIP; bars show each value against the larger of the two.

Top Players

Across up to five recent games with recorded boxscores.

Washington Nationals

Hitters

Daylen Lile headshot
Daylen Lile

6 H, 2 HR, 6 RBI

Dylan Crews headshot
Dylan Crews

4 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI

CJ Abrams headshot
CJ Abrams

3 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Pitchers

Andrew Alvarez headshot
Andrew Alvarez

6.0 IP, 8 SO, 0.00 ERA

Cade Cavalli headshot
Cade Cavalli

5.0 IP, 6 SO, 0.00 ERA

Will Dion headshot
Will Dion

4.2 IP, 3 SO, 0.00 ERA

St. Louis Cardinals

Hitters

Iván Herrera headshot
Iván Herrera

6 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI

Leo Bernal headshot
Leo Bernal

6 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI

José Fermín headshot
José Fermín

6 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI

Pitchers

Matthew Liberatore headshot
Matthew Liberatore

6.0 IP, 2 SO, 1.50 ERA

Brycen Mautz headshot
Brycen Mautz

4.0 IP, 6 SO, 2.25 ERA

Cade Winquest headshot
Cade Winquest

3.2 IP, 7 SO, 2.46 ERA

Top Performers

Picked by MLBDB from this game's box score. MLB's own list of top performers can differ.

Iván Herrera headshot
Iván Herrera
St. Louis Cardinals, MLBDB pick
Jake Irvin headshot
Jake Irvin
Washington Nationals, MLBDB pick
Quinn Mathews headshot
Quinn Mathews
St. Louis Cardinals, MLBDB pick

Line Score

St. Louis Cardinals 5, Washington Nationals 3: WSH 7 hits, STL 6 hits; WSH 1 error, STL 0 errors.

Runs by inningThen runs (R), hits (H) and errors (E) for the game
Team123456789RHE
Washington Nationals010002000371
St. Louis Cardinals10100003x560

Box Score

Batting

Brady House and Daylen Lile led Washington Nationals with 2 hits each.

Washington Nationals batting
PlayerABRHRBIBBSOHR
James WoodDH4000020
Andrés Chaparro1B2000100
Abimelec OrtizPH/1B1000000
Brady House3B2120100
Jorbit VivasPH/3B1000010
CJ Abrams2B4112011
Dylan CrewsRF4000000
Daylen LileLF4120000
Harry FordC3010010
Keibert RuizPH1000000
Jacob YoungCF2011000
Nasim NuñezSS3000000
Totals31373251

Iván Herrera and José Fermín led St. Louis Cardinals with 2 hits each.

St. Louis Cardinals batting
PlayerABRHRBIBBSOHR
JJ Wetherholt2B4011000
Iván HerreraDH4222012
Alec Burleson1B4000010
Jordan WalkerRF3100110
Leo BernalC3112111
Thomas SaggeseSS/3B4000020
Bryan TorresLF3000010
Masyn WinnSS0000000
José Fermín3B3120000
Victor Scott IILF0000000
Nathan ChurchCF3000010
Totals31565283

Pitching

Jake Irvin went 5.1 innings for Washington Nationals (8 SO, 2 ER); Quinn Mathews went 7.0 innings for St. Louis Cardinals (3 SO, 3 ER).

Pitching lines
PitcherIPHRERBBSOHR
Washington Nationals
Jake Irvin5.1322081
Will Dion1.2100100
Erik Tolman0.2111001
Yovanny Cruz0.1122101
St. Louis Cardinals
Quinn Mathews7.0733231
Luis Gastelum1.0000020
Riley O'Brien1.0000000
AB
at-bats
R
runs
H
hits
RBI
runs batted in
BB
walks
SO
strikeouts
HR
home runs
IP
innings pitched
ER
earned runs

Scoring Summary

  • B1

    Home Run Iván Herrera homers (17) on a fly ball to left field. WSH 0, STL 1

  • T2

    Sac Fly Jacob Young out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Nathan Church. Daylen Lile scores. Harry Ford to 2nd. WSH 1, STL 1

  • B3

    Single JJ Wetherholt singles on a line drive to right fielder Dylan Crews. José Fermín scores. WSH 1, STL 2

  • T6

    Home Run CJ Abrams homers (31) on a fly ball to right field. Brady House scores. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B8

    Home Run Iván Herrera homers (18) on a fly ball to left center field. WSH 3, STL 3

  • B8

    Home Run Leo Bernal homers (4) on a fly ball to center field. Jordan Walker scores. WSH 3, STL 5

Play-by-Play

All 68 recorded plate appearances, newest first.

  • T9

    Groundout Keibert Ruiz grounds out to first baseman Alec Burleson. WSH 3, STL 5

  • T9

    Pop Out Daylen Lile pops out to shortstop Masyn Winn. WSH 3, STL 5

  • T9

    Lineout Dylan Crews lines out sharply to left fielder Victor Scott II. WSH 3, STL 5

  • B8

    Groundout Thomas Saggese grounds out, shortstop Nasim Nuñez to first baseman Abimelec Ortiz. WSH 3, STL 5

  • B8

    Home Run Leo Bernal homers (4) on a fly ball to center field. Jordan Walker scores. WSH 3, STL 5

  • B8

    Walk Jordan Walker walks. WSH 3, STL 3

  • B8

    Groundout Alec Burleson grounds out, third baseman Jorbit Vivas to first baseman Abimelec Ortiz. WSH 3, STL 3

  • B8

    Home Run Iván Herrera homers (18) on a fly ball to left center field. WSH 3, STL 3

  • B8

    Groundout JJ Wetherholt grounds out, third baseman Jorbit Vivas to first baseman Abimelec Ortiz. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T8

    Strikeout CJ Abrams strikes out swinging. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T8

    Strikeout Jorbit Vivas strikes out swinging. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T8

    Flyout Abimelec Ortiz flies out to center fielder Nathan Church. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B7

    Flyout Nathan Church flies out to left fielder Daylen Lile. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B7

    Single José Fermín singles on a line drive to center fielder Jacob Young. Leo Bernal to 2nd. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B7

    Flyout Bryan Torres flies out to right fielder Dylan Crews. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B7

    Lineout Thomas Saggese lines out sharply to left fielder Daylen Lile. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B7

    Walk Leo Bernal walks. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T7

    Lineout James Wood lines out sharply to center fielder Nathan Church. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T7

    Flyout Nasim Nuñez flies out to center fielder Nathan Church. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T7

    Pop Out Jacob Young pops out to shortstop Thomas Saggese. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B6

    Groundout Jordan Walker grounds out, second baseman CJ Abrams to first baseman Andrés Chaparro. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B6

    Groundout Alec Burleson grounds out, second baseman CJ Abrams to first baseman Andrés Chaparro. WSH 3, STL 2

  • B6

    Pop Out Iván Herrera pops out to shortstop Nasim Nuñez. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T6

    Strikeout Harry Ford strikes out swinging. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T6

    Double Nationals challenged (tag play), call on the field was upheld: Daylen Lile doubles (28) on a line drive to right fielder Jordan Walker. Daylen Lile out at 3rd on the throw, right fielder Jordan Walker to third baseman José Fermín. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T6

    Groundout Dylan Crews grounds out, third baseman José Fermín to first baseman Alec Burleson. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T6

    Home Run CJ Abrams homers (31) on a fly ball to right field. Brady House scores. WSH 3, STL 2

  • T6

    Single Brady House singles on a ground ball to left fielder Bryan Torres. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B5

    Groundout JJ Wetherholt grounds out, second baseman CJ Abrams to first baseman Andrés Chaparro. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B5

    Strikeout Nathan Church strikes out swinging. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B5

    Groundout José Fermín grounds out, second baseman CJ Abrams to first baseman Andrés Chaparro. WSH 1, STL 2

  • T5

    Flyout Andrés Chaparro flies out to right fielder Jordan Walker. WSH 1, STL 2

  • T5

    Strikeout James Wood strikes out swinging. WSH 1, STL 2

  • T5

    Groundout Nasim Nuñez grounds out, shortstop Thomas Saggese to first baseman Alec Burleson. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B4

    Flyout Bryan Torres flies out to right fielder Dylan Crews. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B4

    Strikeout Thomas Saggese called out on strikes. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B4

    Field Error Leo Bernal reaches on a throwing error by shortstop Nasim Nuñez. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B4

    Groundout Jordan Walker grounds out, second baseman CJ Abrams to first baseman Andrés Chaparro. WSH 1, STL 2

  • T4

    Caught Stealing 2B Jacob Young caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Leo Bernal to second baseman JJ Wetherholt. WSH 1, STL 2

  • T4

    Single Jacob Young singles on a ground ball to left fielder Bryan Torres. WSH 1, STL 2

  • T4

    Groundout Harry Ford grounds out, second baseman JJ Wetherholt to first baseman Alec Burleson. WSH 1, STL 2

  • T4

    Lineout Daylen Lile lines out sharply to right fielder Jordan Walker. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B3

    Flyout Alec Burleson flies out to left fielder Daylen Lile. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B3

    Strikeout Iván Herrera strikes out swinging. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B3

    Single JJ Wetherholt singles on a line drive to right fielder Dylan Crews. José Fermín scores. WSH 1, STL 2

  • B3

    Pop Out Nathan Church pops out to second baseman CJ Abrams. WSH 1, STL 1

  • B3

    Double José Fermín doubles (17) on a line drive to right fielder Dylan Crews. WSH 1, STL 1

  • T3

    Flyout Dylan Crews flies out to right fielder Jordan Walker. WSH 1, STL 1

  • T3

    Forceout CJ Abrams grounds into a force out, first baseman Alec Burleson to shortstop Thomas Saggese. Andrés Chaparro to 3rd. Brady House out at 2nd. CJ Abrams to 1st. WSH 1, STL 1

  • T3

    Walk Brady House walks. Andrés Chaparro to 2nd. WSH 1, STL 1

  • T3

    Walk Andrés Chaparro walks. WSH 1, STL 1

  • T3

    Groundout James Wood grounds out, second baseman JJ Wetherholt to first baseman Alec Burleson. WSH 1, STL 1

  • B2

    Strikeout Bryan Torres strikes out swinging. WSH 1, STL 1

  • B2

    Strikeout Thomas Saggese called out on strikes. WSH 1, STL 1

  • B2

    Strikeout Leo Bernal strikes out on a foul tip. WSH 1, STL 1

  • T2

    Pop Out Nasim Nuñez pops out to first baseman Alec Burleson in foul territory. WSH 1, STL 1

  • T2

    Sac Fly Jacob Young out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Nathan Church. Daylen Lile scores. Harry Ford to 2nd. WSH 1, STL 1

  • T2

    Single Harry Ford singles on a sharp line drive to left fielder Bryan Torres. Daylen Lile to 3rd. WSH 0, STL 1

  • T2

    Single Daylen Lile singles on a sharp line drive to left fielder Bryan Torres. WSH 0, STL 1

  • T2

    Flyout Dylan Crews flies out sharply to right fielder Jordan Walker. WSH 0, STL 1

  • B1

    Strikeout Jordan Walker called out on strikes. WSH 0, STL 1

  • B1

    Strikeout Alec Burleson strikes out swinging. WSH 0, STL 1

  • B1

    Home Run Iván Herrera homers (17) on a fly ball to left field. WSH 0, STL 1

  • B1

    Groundout JJ Wetherholt grounds out to first baseman Andrés Chaparro. WSH 0, STL 0

  • T1

    Pop Out CJ Abrams pops out to second baseman JJ Wetherholt in foul territory. WSH 0, STL 0

  • T1

    Single Brady House singles on a line drive to left fielder Bryan Torres. WSH 0, STL 0

  • T1

    Groundout Andrés Chaparro grounds out, shortstop Thomas Saggese to first baseman Alec Burleson. WSH 0, STL 0

  • T1

    Strikeout James Wood strikes out swinging. WSH 0, STL 0