St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals: Final Score & Recap

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Washington Nationals 7-6 in ten innings at Nationals Park on April 7, 2026, handing Washington a loss that the DiamondIQ model's estimate had made the favorite to avoid, with the home side carrying a 54% pre-game win probability that fell to zero by game's end. The Cardinals scored twice in the tenth to seize control, with Thomas Saggese delivering the decisive blow, a double off Cole Henry that swung win probability 31.3 points in St. Louis's favor. JJ Wetherholt added a double of his own in the same frame, pushing the Cardinals' advantage further with a 20.3-point swing. The Nationals had pulled within reach throughout, including a Nathan Church home run off Gus Varland in the eighth that shifted the game 29.6 points toward Washington, briefly giving the home club real life. But Riley O'Brien answered in the bottom of the tenth by striking out Nasim Nuñez, a sequence that registered a 25.3-point swing back toward St. Louis and effectively sealed the result.

Among the game's standout performers, Curtis Mead led all position players with a plus-24.8% WPA and a RE24 of plus-2.0, making him the Cardinals' most impactful bat by the model's accounting. Church was Washington's brightest spot, finishing with a plus-18.2% WPA and plus-1.3 RE24 despite ending up on the losing side, while Iván Herrera contributed a plus-17.4% WPA for St. Louis. On the mound, Clayton Beeter led Cardinals relievers with a plus-13.5% WPA, followed by Cade Cavalli at plus-10.9%. George Soriano closed things out for St. Louis, adding a plus-7.0% WPA that included the strikeout of Daylen Lile in the ninth, a 14.0-point swing that preserved the Cardinals' lead heading into extras. The Cardinals finished with nine hits and one error against Washington's ten hits and two errors, the Nationals' miscues ultimately proving costly in a one-run game that extended to extra innings.