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FinalFinal lineupsNL East / NL Central

Washington Nationals 3, St. Louis Cardinals 5

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

2:15 PM ET · Busch StadiumGame-day snapshot Sep 22, 2:01 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 4, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score51
Washington Nationals
77–85 · 4th NL East · T-Score 51
3
3–5
FINAL · 9 innings
St. Louis Cardinals
77–85 · 4th NL Central · T-Score 42
5
T-Score42
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Jake IrvinWSH
Starter
5.1320897
Yovanny CruzWSH
ReliefLoss
0.1121016
Quinn MathewsSTL
Starter
7.0732396
Luis GastelumSTL
ReliefWin
1.0000212
Riley O'BrienSTL
ReliefSave
1.000006
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
WSHWashington Nationals010002000371
STLSt. Louis Cardinals101000030560
Top hitters
Iván Herrera2-for-4 · 2 HR · 2 RBI
CJ Abrams1-for-4 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Leo Bernal1-for-3 · 1 HR · 2 RBI · 1 BB
Jacob Young1-for-2 · 1 RBI
JJ Wetherholt1-for-4 · 1 RBI

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherCardinalsMathews owns the stronger overall starter profile, with the higher P-Score and better strikeout and baserunner rates.
Offense vs handNationalsWashington has produced the stronger offense against left-handed pitching.
LineupNationalsThe confirmed Washington order includes 6 hitters with an OPS above .750 against left-handed pitching.
Recent formNationalsWashington has won 6 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
PowerNationalsWashington has 202 home runs this season, 44 more than St..

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

WSH
Jake Irvin RHP
Jake Irvin
Washington Nationals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
5.51
188th
WHIP
1.41
158th
K/9
8.97
58th
BB/9
4.30
183rd
P-Score40i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.59
197th
OPS/R
–
IP
96.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.68
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 5)
DAYS
REST
7
STL
Quinn Mathews LHP
Quinn Mathews
St. Louis Cardinals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.62
84th
WHIP
1.39
151st
K/9
8.68
98th
BB/9
3.86
146th
P-Score54i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.72
51st
OPS/R
–
IP
37.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.81
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Mathews enters with a 3.62 ERA compared with Irvin's 5.51.
·Mathews allows the lower home-run rate: 0.72 vs 1.59 per nine.
·Mathews has produced a quality start in 40% of outings versus 0%.
·Irvin enters with a 4.76 road ERA; Mathews owns a 2.33 ERA at home.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Irvin arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam31%93.2
Curveball23%77.7
Sinker19%92.1
Cutter11%89.4
Sweeper9%82.1
Changeup8%85.9
Mathews arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam39%93.4
Slider23%84.8
Changeup17%83.0
Curveball13%75.7
Sinker9%92.8

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Nationals vs LHP (Quinn Mathews)
3rd
in MLB
0.773OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Cardinals vs RHP (Jake Irvin)
29th
in MLB
0.688OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 20, 12:16 PM ET
WSHWSH
.738
+4 ptsOPS edge
STLSTL
.734

Even matchup

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Washington NationalsOfficial lineupvs LHP Quinn Mathews
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Mathews (BvP)
1James WoodLRF84.89130.826No MLB historyNo history
2Andrés ChaparroR1B72.88513.8170-for-1Very small sample
3Brady HouseR3B59.71010.975No MLB historyNo history
4CJ AbramsLSS73.83333.690No MLB historyNo history
5Dylan CrewsRRF55.66313.861No MLB historyNo history
6Daylen LileLLF63.72522.595No MLB historyNo history
7Harry FordRC45.6643.832No MLB historyNo history
8Jacob YoungRCF55.70810.813No MLB historyNo history
9Nasim NuñezS2B32.5351.586No MLB historyNo history
1James Wood RF · L.265 / .891 · 30 HRvs hand .826 · No MLB history · No history84H-Score2Andrés Chaparro 1B · R.263 / .885 · 13 HRvs hand .817 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample72H-Score3Brady House 3B · R.247 / .710 · 10 HRvs hand .975 · No MLB history · No history59H-Score4CJ Abrams SS · L.261 / .833 · 33 HRvs hand .690 · No MLB history · No history73H-Score5Dylan Crews RF · R.223 / .663 · 13 HRvs hand .861 · No MLB history · No history55H-Score6Daylen Lile LF · L.246 / .725 · 22 HRvs hand .595 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score7Harry Ford C · R.190 / .664 · 3 HRvs hand .832 · No MLB history · No history45H-Score8Jacob Young CF · R.252 / .708 · 10 HRvs hand .813 · No MLB history · No history55H-Score9Nasim Nuñez 2B · S.209 / .535 · 1 HRvs hand .586 · No MLB history · No history32H-Score
St. Louis CardinalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Jake Irvin
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Irvin (BvP)
1JJ WetherholtL2B64.70417.732No MLB historyNo history
2Iván HerreraRDH67.73519.697No MLB historyNo history
3Alec BurlesonL1B79.81626.9393-for-7Very small sample
4Jordan WalkerRRF77.79329.7690-for-2Very small sample
5Leo BernalSC67.8075.899No MLB historyNo history
6Thomas SaggeseRSS49.6464.5950-for-3Very small sample
7Bryan TorresLLF40.6404.672No MLB historyNo history
8José FermínRLF45.6646.605No MLB historyNo history
9Nathan ChurchLCF43.65410.671No MLB historyNo history
1JJ Wetherholt 2B · L.242 / .704 · 17 HRvs hand .732 · No MLB history · No history64H-Score2Iván Herrera DH · R.241 / .735 · 19 HRvs hand .697 · No MLB history · No history67H-Score3Alec Burleson 1B · L.279 / .816 · 26 HRvs hand .939 · 3-for-7 · Very small sample79H-Score4Jordan Walker RF · R.269 / .793 · 29 HRvs hand .769 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample77H-Score5Leo Bernal C · S.284 / .807 · 5 HRvs hand .899 · No MLB history · No history67H-Score6Thomas Saggese SS · R.235 / .646 · 4 HRvs hand .595 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample49H-Score7Bryan Torres LF · L.229 / .640 · 4 HRvs hand .672 · No MLB history · No history40H-Score8José Fermín LF · R.248 / .664 · 6 HRvs hand .605 · No MLB history · No history45H-Score9Nathan Church CF · L.247 / .654 · 10 HRvs hand .671 · No MLB history · No history43H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseWSHWSH·STLSTL
AVG.246 10th.239 24th
OPS.744 3rd.691 29th
Home runs210 6th167 24th
Runs821 3rd720 16th
OBP.321 8th.313 22nd
SLG.423 3rd.378 29th
PitchingWSHWSH·STLSTL
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.67vs4.26
WSHSTL
WHIP1.39vs1.36
WSHSTL
K/98.0vs8.0
WSHSTL
HR Allowed218vs158
WSHSTL
BullpenWSHWSH·STLSTL
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.33vs4.71
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.39vs1.36
no league rank
Saves42vs46
WSHSTL
ResultsWSHWSH·STLSTL
+3547th
Run differential
+24820th
77–85 Record77–85
6–4 Last 103–7
Last 10 games
Washington Nationals (6–4)
W
W
L
W
W
W
W
L
L
L
St. Louis Cardinals (3–7)
L
L
L
L
W
W
L
W
L
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
1—5
6 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Nationals?+
Jake Irvin (5.51 ERA, 2–9) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Cardinals?+
Quinn Mathews (3.62 ERA, 2–3) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
2:15 PM ET at Busch Stadium.
Where is the game being played?+
Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Nationals and Cardinals performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Cardinals 5–1 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Jake Irvin is at 40; Quinn Mathews is at 54. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.