The St. Louis Cardinals host the Washington Nationals in the final game of a four game series Thursday afternoon. The Cardinals are headed for the playoffs as they sit comfortably atop the NL Central division while the Nationals have the worst record in baseball. Josiah Gray (7-9) gets the start for the Nationals while Adam Wainwright (10-9) takes the hill for the Cardinals. First pitch is at 1:15 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium.
The Nationals have been playing out the string for quite a while now. They have the worst record in baseball and they have been at or near the bottom of the league pretty much all season. It has been a nightmare season and at this point, the Nationals are just looking to turn the page and move on. But it should be noted that they are playing decent baseball as of late, winning 5 of their last 7 games, not counting Wednesday night's clash. Maybe that will give them some momentum as they head into next season.
On Thursday afternoon, Josiah Gray will get the start for the Nationals. Gray, a right hander, has been a solid starter for Washington with a record of 7-9 and an ERA of 4.91 in 24 starts. He has 142 strikeouts and 57 walks in 128.1 innings of work. But his last outing wasn't his best as he gave up 6 runs on 6 hits in 5 innings in a 7-3 loss to the Mets. Gray is 0-1 against the Cardinals this season, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts in 5 innings. The Nationals have a team ERA of 5.01, which is the second worst in baseball. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.05, which is 18th in baseball.