Werth's bat, Ross' arm lead Nationals past Cardinals 6-1

St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Saturday, April 30, 2016, in St. Louis.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Saturday, April 30, 2016, in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Jayson Werth's three-run home run capped a four-run first inning and Joe Ross had another stingy outing for the Washington Nationals in a 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.

Ross (3-0) allowed one run on six hits in six innings, raising his ERA to 0.79. He has given up only two runs in 22 2/3 innings and bounced back nicely after skipping a turn because of a blister on his right middle finger.

Werth added an RBI single in the eighth, his fifth in the first two games of a weekend series and 10th of the year. Washington goes for a sweep Sunday after raising its record to 8-24 at 11-year-old Busch Stadium.

Opponents had been 2 for 13 with no runs in the first against Jaime Garcia (1-2) before the Nationals jumped on the lefty for four runs on three hits. Daniel Murphy had an RBI single before Werth hit his fourth over the left-field wall.

The Cardinals had two hits, a sacrifice bunt and Matt Carpenter's sacrifice fly for a run in the fifth.

Garcia gave up only one more hit before leaving after 6 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking three. He entered the game 4-1 against Washington.

Yadier Molina singled and doubled for an 11-game hitting streak and has reached safely in a career-best 18 straight games.

SIGNIFICANT

Aledmys Diaz singled in the ninth for his 30th hit in April. Albert Pujols is the only other Cardinals rookie to do it, with 34 hits in 2001.

SLUMPING

St. Louis CF Jeremy Hazelbaker had two errors, one fielding and one throwing, and the second miscue resulted in an unearned run in the eighth. Randal Grichuk struck out pinch hitting in the seventh and is hitless in his last 16 at-bats.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Nationals: C Wilson Ramos remained on the bereavement list while in Venezuela following the death of his grandfather.

Cardinals: Third base coach Jose Oquendo, on indefinite medical leave, will undergo right knee replacement surgery in a month or so in Florida. Oquendo was in St. Louis on Saturday.

UP NEXT

Washington RHP Max Scherzer (2-1, 4.35) is 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two career starts in his hometown. St. Louis RHP Carlos Martinez (4-0, 1.93) is among six pitchers in the majors to win the first four starts of the season.

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Cardinals vs. Nationals game highlights