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Looking to win a seventh straight game for the first time in three seasons, the visiting St. Louis Cardinals can clinch a series win against the struggling Washington Nationals on Saturday afternoon.

Fresh off a 10-0 victory over Washington on Friday, St. Louis has won its last three games by a combined score of 17-1. In the opener of the three-game set, former Nationals pitcher Erick Fedde hurled a six-hit shutout against Washington.

Fedde extended the Cardinals’ recent pitching success, as the club’s last three starters have surrendered just one run over the last 23 innings. St. Louis’ winning streak is its longest since they won eight in a row in August 2022.

“We just saw him do something special,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Fedde. “It was cool to see him navigate that lineup. When you look at (Washington), they’re a left-match all the way through, so for him to be able to go through that lineup the way they’ve been swinging, he had everything working.”

Another righty will take the mound for St. Louis on Saturday, as Andre Pallante (2-2, 4.75 ERA) makes his eighth start of the season. Pallante, 26, has gone four consecutive starts without picking up a victory, including last Sunday, when he allowed four earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the New York Mets. The Cardinals won 5-4.

Pallante has faced the Nationals five times (one start) in his career, posting a 1-1 record and a 7.36 ERA.

Washington enters Saturday having lost three straight while allowing 27 runs. Starter Mitchell Parker allowed four runs in four innings on Friday, before the bullpen gave up six runs in the final five frames.

“This one wasn’t good,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said postgame. “I’m sitting here trying to figure out what went wrong. Mitchell struggled. Walks. Fell behind. Our offense just couldn’t get it going. We came in after a day off. We were playing well. I’m just going to try to really forget about this one.”

The Nationals’ 5.47 ERA is the third highest in the majors, only better than the Colorado Rockies (5.56) and Miami Marlins (5.86).

Another struggling hurler, veteran right-hander Trevor Williams (2-3, 5.86), will start for Washington. The 33-year-old hasn’t gone more than 5 1/3 innings in any of his five starts this season, but is coming off a victory against the Cincinnati Reds last Saturday, allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings in an 11-6 win.

Williams, a longtime National League Central rival of the Cardinals while with the Pittsburgh Pirates, is 5-6 with a 4.93 ERA in 22 career appearances (17 starts) against St. Louis.

–Field Level Media