St. Louis Cardinals vs Washington Nationals Picks and Predictions July 27th 2024

Cards’ Kyle Gibson Looks to Build on Last Outing in Test vs. Nationals

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Gibson utilized the All-Star break to audit his presentation and reset for the stretch run. Subsequent to allowing four sudden spikes in demand for 10 hits in four innings in his last start before the break, Gibson (7-3, 3.99 ERA) bounced back in his first start from that point forward, going 6 2/3 innings while allowing just one sudden spike in demand for three hits.

Gibson’s New Exhibition

Gibson expects to keep up with his structure on Saturday night as he faces the Washington Nationals in the second round of a three-game set in St. Louis. The Nationals rallied to win the opener 10-8 of every 10 innings on Friday night. The Cardinals are focusing on Gibson to restore request after a game damaged by eight walks and blown three-run leads.

“There are times I do fairly deep dives into how I’ve been throwing and charting pitches,” Gibson said after his outing in Atlanta on July 20, which the Braves won 3-2 in 10 innings. “There comes a point I get fairly frustrated, and I want to make sure I’m looking at all angles. When I looked back at what I’ve written down and how I’ve been throwing and what I’ve been throwing, I felt like I wasn’t really utilizing the weapons that I have. Part of my game is to give hitters different looks.”

Gibson earned an 8-3 victory over the Nationals on July 7, striking out eight batters in five innings but allowing three runs on nine hits and two walks.

Nationals’ Offensive Contributions

Former Cardinal Juan Yepez had an RBI double off Gibson in that game, and Jesse Winker and Riley Adams each had a run-scoring single. Yepez is hitting .375 with a 1.032 OPS since his call-up from Triple-A Rochester. Despite having a 15-game hitting streak snapped on Thursday during Dylan Cease’s no-hitter against the Nationals, Yepez bounced back to go 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in Friday’s victory. Luis Garcia Jr. and Jacob Young each drove in three runs, and C.J. Abrams scored twice and had an RBI.

Garcia, Abrams, Young, and James Wood are cornerstone players in Washington’s rebuild.

“When you see these guys and you think to yourself, ‘Man, in two or three years, we’ve got a lot of talent,’” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “We’re going to be really good, not just for a year or two but for many, many years, so that’s definitely exciting. It starts with the group that we have now. It started for the last couple years, building these guys up.”

Nationals’ Pitching Plans

Washington will counter Gibson with right-hander Jake Irvin (7-8, 3.44 ERA), who is coming off a strong performance against Cincinnati. He held the Reds to two solo home runs in a game Washington won 5-2, striking out seven batters, walking none, and coaxing 10 ground-ball outs.

In his only career appearance against the Cardinals, Irvin allowed four runs on six hits in three innings on July 15, 2023.

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Roster Moves and Injuries

In front of Friday’s down, the Nationals recalled pitcher Eduardo Salazar from Rochester and put pitcher Jordan Weems (right shin supports) on the 15-day harmed list. Weems’ physical issue allowed the Nationals to recall Salazar just three days subsequent to downgrading him.

“We discussed this before we sent him down; we need to see much more of him,” Martinez said, “and we will get a chance to see him.”

As the Cardinals and Nationals proceed with their series, the two groups will hope to expand on their new exhibitions and secure a significant win. Gibson plans to harden his new upgrades, while Irvin desires to proceed with his strong sudden spike in demand for the hill.