Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals Live Streaming

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8:15 pm EDT Tue May 18, 2010

Some lineup shuffling from manager Tony La Russa appeared to get the St. Louis Cardinals back on track. Then again, maybe it was simply a visit from the Washington Nationals that did the trick. The Cardinals seek to continue their home dominance of the Nationals and complete a two-game sweep Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. Attempting to jump-start a club that had dropped nine of 12 and fallen out of the NL Central lead for the first time since July 30, La Russa flip-flopped sluggers Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday in the lineup prior to Monday’s series opener, batting Holliday third and dropping Pujols into the cleanup spot. The manager said he made the move to help Holliday - batting .299 entering the series but with only four homers and 14 RBIs - although Pujols had also been playing below his usual MVP-caliber standards with a .255 average and one home run in May.

The Cardinals should also be glad he’s there. While the lineup switch failed to energize Holliday, who went 0 for 3 with a walk, Pujols went 3 for 3 with a walk and two runs Monday to help St. Louis win 6-2 - its seventh consecutive home victory over the Nationals since the start of 2008. The Cardinals own a 12-2 overall edge versus Washington in that same span. One of the early season’s most pleasant surprises, the Nationals have now totaled eight runs while losing a season-high four straight. Another defeat Tuesday would drop them to .500 for the first time since April 26, when they were 10-10. Though St. Louis starter Chris Carpenter produced his longest outing of the season in his last start, he’ll be trying to bounce back from his first loss when he takes the mound Tuesday. The right-hander lasted eight innings against Houston on Thursday, but yielded all the runs in the Cardinals’ 4-1 defeat.