WASHINGTON (AP) — With the drizzle at first pitch developing into steady rain by the middle innings, Trevor Williams simply tried to throw a bunch of strikes and stay mentally tough.
Williams outpitched Miles Mikolas in soggy conditions, CJ Abrams went 3 for 3 with a homer and the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 on Wednesday to end a five-game skid.
“When it’s raining and you see rain in the forecast, it’s easier to kind of shut your mind off thinking that we’re going to get rained out,” Williams said. “For everyone to come and play and be locked in from the first pitch was huge for us.”
With the rain getting heavier in the fifth inning, Abrams sent a 1-0 fastball from Mikolas (4-5) into the visitors’ bullpen in left-center.
“He was throwing those sinkers running away from me, so I was just trying to go the other way with it,” Abrams said. “I didn’t think it was going to go out, but it left.”
Williams (4-4) allowed five hits and threw 75 pitches while working into the seventh inning for the first time this year as he cooled off the Cardinals, who had won four straight and scored eight or more runs in their last three. St. Louis was shut out for the seventh time this season.
“The game plan going in was just to attack the zone and hopefully they make weak contact early,” Williams said. “With the wet field, you never know what could happen.”
Williams departed after Lars Nootbaar’s leadoff single in the seventh. Reliever Mason Thompson walked Nolan Arenado, then got two outs before Kyle Finnegan came on and induced an inning-ending grounder. Finnegan completed the eighth and Hunter Harvey pitched the ninth for his fourth save.
Jeimer Candelario drove in runs for Washington with a double in the sixth and a grounder in the eighth.
The game began under cloudy conditions and light drizzle, with radar indicating rain would continue throughout the afternoon and evening. But both teams had incentives to try and play.
This was the final game of the Cardinals’ only visit to Washington this season, and they were scheduled to depart for London on Wednesday night for a weekend series against the rival Chicago Cubs. The Nationals will play Arizona on Thursday to make up a game postponed June 8 because of poor air quality.
Mikolas and Williams both appeared determined to spend as little time on the mound as possible in the iffy weather. They combined to walk one batter, and Mikolas frequently started his delivery with nearly 10 seconds left on the pitch clock.
Perhaps sensing the Cardinals needed an offensive spark, Dylan Carlson hit a soft liner just over the head of second baseman Luis García in the fifth and tried to stretch it into an unlikely double. Right fielder Lane Thomas threw Carlson out at second.
Mikolas took a comebacker from Abrams off his lower right leg with two outs in the seventh but finished the inning. He allowed two runs on eight hits but lost his fourth consecutive start.
“It was kind of fun but a little challenging, throwing in the rain, kind of like being a kid in the backyard, throwing in the summer,” Mikolas said. “I’m from South Florida, so every summer ball tournament I’ve been in, it’s been raining at some point. … I probably should have got a new rosin bag at some point because it was just like a wet rag back there.”
García doubled twice for Washington. St. Louis’ Brendan Donovan extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a third-inning single.
Derek Hill had an infield single in his first at-bat as a National. The speedy outfielder, who was hitting .320 in the minors, was added to the roster to replace the injured Victor Robles.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cardinals: Rookie OF Jordan Walker, who’s on a 13-game hitting streak, got the day off.
Nationals: Placed Robles on the 10-day injured list with back spasms for the second time this season. Robles has already missed more than a month with the ailment and played five games in his return before telling manager Dave Martinez he was sore. … Placed RHP Carl Edwards Jr. (right shoulder inflammation) on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Tuesday, and recalled LHP Joe La Sorsa.
UP NEXT
Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (3-1, 5.56 ERA) is set to open the series at London Stadium against Cubs LHP Justin Steele (7-2, 2.71) on Saturday.
Nationals: RHP Jake Irvin (1-3. 5.25) is set to oppose Diamondbacks LHP Tommy Henry (3-1, 4.66) on Thursday in the makeup game.
