Cardinals Vs. Nationals Preview: St. Louis Looks To Rediscover Offense

The St. Louis Cardinals (71-59) head to the nation's capital on Thursday for a four-game set against the Washington Nationals (78-51), looking to reignite an offense that has disappeared over the past two games in Pittsburgh.

The Cardinals lost to the Pirates 5-0 on Wednesday night and 9-0 on Tuesday.

St. Louis is in the thick of an extremely tight Wild Card race, while Washington is first in the NL East with a five-game cushion.

Jaime Garcia (3-5) will pitch for the Cardinals. In his last outing, against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 25, he gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings and took a loss.

Edwin Jackson (7-9) will be on the mound for the Nationals. It'll be the first time he has gone up against St. Louis since he played there.

Washington has won six of its last eight games against the Cardinals. It had lost five straight games before beating the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT at Nationals Park. You can watch the game on Fox Sports Midwest.

Check out Viva El Birdos for more Cardinals news, and head over to Federal Baseball for more on the Nationals. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more coverage from around the league.