Nats cap off historic sweep of Cardinals with 6-1 win

ST. LOUIS - With a big-time bounceback performance from Max Scherzer and back-to-back homers from a couple of previously slumping hitters, the Nationals beat the Cardinals yet again this afternoon, pulling off their first-ever series sweep in St. Louis.

The Nationals' 6-1 victory at Busch Stadium, on the heels of 5-4 and 6-1 triumphs, capped off an impressive weekend and kicked off a daunting road trip in a manner few could have reasonably foreseen only three days ago.

Scherzer set the tone, matching St. Louis' Carlos Martinez pitch-for-pitch through five scoreless innings before his teammates gave him the lead. The Nats ace then finished it off, cruising through the seventh before finally getting pulled with his pitch count at 105.

After ragged performances in each of his last two starts, Scherzer looked reinvigorated pitching in his hometown. He struck out nine batters, most on well-placed fastballs that topped out at 97 mph, and displayed both the command and authoritative mound presence that came to define his first season in Washington.

Martinez was equally dominant through five innings, allowing only one hit (Scherzer's single) without a walk. But then the Nationals broke through in the sixth with some small ball: Jose Lobaton singled, Scherzer sacrificed him over to second and Matt den Dekker singled up the middle to put his team ahead 1-0.

There was nothing small about the way the Nationals expanded that lead one inning later. Clint Robinson (who had been 1-for-21 prior to that at-bat) and Danny Espinosa (who had been hitting .185) homered on back-to-back pitches from Martinez, turning a tight pitchers' duel into a one-sided affair.

Doubles by Anthony Rendon and Daniel Murphy in the eighth tacked on another insurance run, and Chris Heisey added his second pinch-hit homer of the season in the ninth, giving the Nationals a comfortable six-run lead on a day when Bryce Harper looked helpless at the plate. The reigning National League MVP struck out in all four of his plate appearances, only the third four-strikeout game of his career and the first since he was a rookie in 2012.

Brandon Moss hit a solo home run off Blake Treinen with two outs in the ninth, but it was too late for the Cardinals.

The Nationals, who already had secured their first series victory in St. Louis since 2007 with their wins Friday and Saturday, went on to secure their first-ever series sweep here in 12 seasons. Their tough road trip now continues in Kansas City before ending at Wrigley Field in Chicago.