Game 8 lineups: Cards at Nats

The Nationals returned home worrying about their bullpen. Turns out the Cardinals' bullpen issues are causing them a lot of difficulty.

The Nats rolled past the Cardinals 14-6, propelled by a seven-run eighth inning. One big factor heading into tonight's game two is that the Cards had to use five relievers to try to slow the Nats onslaught. The Cards bullpen was taxed for four innings, eight hits, eight runs while walking four batters. Kevin Siegrist's ERA is 19.29. Jonathan Broxton's ERA is now 16.88.

There was very little wrong with Gio Gonzalez's 2017 debut. He pitched six shutout innings, scattering seven hits with seven strikeouts and issuing one intentional walk. The quality start did not result in a decision. The Marlins went on to beat the Nationals 4-3 in 10 innings. But Gio's tempo and his ability to have laser focus on each hitter resulted in pitcher-friendly counts and big-time pitches in high-leverage situations. It was a continuation of an outstanding spring, which sometimes is difficult to pull off when the games count.

The Cardinals send right-hander Lance Lynn (0-0, 3.38 ERA) to the bump tonight. The 29-year-old is making his second start, the 128th of his career. He missed the entire 2016 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Lynn allowed two runs on five hits over five innings in a no-decision April 6 against the Cubs. He is 13-3 in his career in April. His .813 winning percentage since 2012 in April is second only to Zack Greinke (.842) in that time span, even though he missed all of last season. Lynn has a 3-1 lifetime record with a 3.29 ERA against the Nationals. He is most remembered around these parts for serving up the 2012 Game 4 walk-off, 13-pitch marathon home run to Jayson Werth that tied the National League Division Series series at 2-2.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, ESPN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 1500 AM, XM 183 (Internet 869), MLB.com
Weather: 79 degrees, party cloudy, zero percent chance of precipitation, winds in from right field 8 mph

NATIONALS (4-3)

CF Adam Eaton
SS Wilmer Difo
RF Bryce Harper
2B Daniel Murphy
1B Ryan Zimmerman
LF Jayson Werth
3B Stephen Drew
C Matt Wieters
LHP Gio Gonzalez

CARDINALS (2-5)

CF Dexter Fowler
SS Aledmys Díaz
C Yadier Molina
RF Stephen Piscotty
2B Jedd Gyorko
3B Jhonny Peralta
LF Randal Grichuk
1B José Martinéz
RHP Lance Lynn