The forecasted rain never showed — Busch Stadium sat at 81 degrees and clear — so nothing slowed Washington down once it got rolling. A throwing error by catcher Bernal in the first inning let a run score before Leahy even settled in, and St. Louis piled on two more miscues from there.
Cavalli was the story on the other side. He tossed 5 shutout innings, scattering 4 hits and striking out 6 without a walk, and reached 200 strikeouts on the season in his first full big-league year — a milestone that came hours after he signed a 4-year contract extension worth up to $70 million, according to NBC Sports and The Sports Leader. Dylan Crews backed him with a 2-run homer in the third, and Yohandy Morales added a 2-run double in the same inning to turn a manageable game into a rout.
St. Louis's bullpen actually cleaned things up late, holding Washington scoreless over the final three innings, and Ivan Herrera's RBI grounder in the eighth was the only run the Cardinals could scratch out against reliever Jack Sinclair. Josiah Gray closed it out with a 1-hit ninth for Washington, which has now won 5 of its last 6.
- 15-Day-ILOrlando Ribalta (RP) — MRI results on Ribalta's right forearm came back negative Tuesday, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.09/09
- 60-Day-ILConnelly Early (SP) — Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said Wednesday that Early (elbow) is tentatively scheduled to make his team debut Sept. 26 against the Mets, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.09/17
- 60-Day-ILMatt Waldron (RP) — The Nationals placed Waldron on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, retroactive to Saturday, with chest inflammation.09/12
- 60-Day-ILDrew Millas (C) — Millas will undergo surgery Friday on his fractured left index finger, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.09/10
- 60-Day-ILDJ Herz (SP) — Herz (elbow) struck out two and allowed one hit and two walks over two scoreless innings in a rehab start Thursday with Double-A Harrisburg.08/21
- 60-Day-ILPJ Poulin (RP) — The Nationals transferred Poulin (forearm) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.08/02
- 60-Day-ILMitchell Parker (RP) — Parker underwent elbow ligament repair surgery with an internal brace Wednesday, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.07/30
- 60-Day-ILKen Waldichuk (RP) — Waldichuk (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure April 21 and is hopeful to return to game action at some point early in the 2027 season, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.06/11
- 10-Day-ILJoshua Baez (LF) — The Cardinals placed Baez on the 10-day injured list Friday with a left oblique strain.09/18
- 10-Day-ILEverson Pereira (RF) — Pereira (hand) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Memphis on Thursday, going 1-for-3 with an RBI single along with two walks.09/18
- 10-Day-ILBlaze Jordan (3B) — Jordan (ankle) has progressed to jogging and fielding grounders, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.09/14
- 15-Day-ILHunter Dobbins (SP) — Dobbins underwent reconstructive surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is expected to require a 12-month recovery, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.09/04
- 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — Rajcic revealed on his Instagram account Thursday that he recently underwent a right elbow UCL reconstruction.07/23
It's a game that won't move either club's standing, but Cavalli's night — the new money and the strikeout number both landing the same evening — gave a lost Washington season one concrete building block heading into next year, while St. Louis is left sorting through the same infield and outfield holes that have dogged it for weeks.