Iván Herrera's two home runs carry Cardinals past Washington; off day before Pittsburgh

WSH  0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 -- 3
STL  1 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 -- 5

The Cardinals beat Washington 5-3 yesterday afternoon, though the Nationals claimed the three-game series 2-of-3. Iván Herrera went 2-for-4 with two home runs, and Leo Bernal put St. Louis ahead for good with his fourth home run of the season in the eighth inning.

THE BREAKDOWN

WHAT WORKED
• Iván Herrera went 2-for-4 with two home runs -- his 17th in the first inning and his 18th in the eighth, which tied the game.
• Leo Bernal hit his fourth home run of the season in the eighth inning, driving in Jordan Walker for the go-ahead run.
• Quinn Mathews started and pitched 7 innings, allowing 3 runs.
• José Fermín went 2-for-3 and scored in the third inning on JJ Wetherholt's RBI single.

WHAT DIDN'T
• Cardinals batters went 6-for-31 with 2 walks as a team.
• CJ Abrams hit his 31st home run of the season in the sixth inning, scoring Brady House and putting Washington ahead.
• Washington won the series 2-of-3.