Bernal, Herrera homer in eighth inning to help Cardinals beat Nationals 5-3

Iván Herrera hit a pair of home runs, and Leo Bernal also homered as the St. Louis Cardinals scored three runs in the eighth inning to come from behind and beat the Washington Nationals 5-3 on SundayByDAVID SOLOMON Associated PressSeptember 20, 2026, 4:56 PMST. LOUIS -- Iván Herrera hit a pair of home runs, and Leo Bernal also homered as the St. Louis Cardinals scored three runs in the eighth inning to come from behind and beat the Washington Nationals 5-3 on Sunday.Bernal hit his fifth homer of the season off Yovanny Cruz (0-2) after Erik Tolman walked Jordan Walker with two outs in the eighth inning.Herrera hit his second homer of the game and 18th of the season to tie the game at 3-all after hitting a solo shot in the first inning.It was Herrera's third career multi-homer game and second this season after going deep twice on June 13 at Minnesota.Luis Gastelum (5-3) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for St. Louis, and Riley O’Brien pitched a perfect ninth to earn his National League-leading 38th save.Cardinals starter Quinn Mathews allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks in a career-high seven innings.Jake Irvin allowed two runs on three hits and had eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings for the Nationals.Brady House singled to right field to leadoff the sixth inning, and Abrams hit his 37th homer of the season to right field to put Washington ahead 3-2. He has 99 RBIs on the season.Popular ReadsThe Nationals had a chance to add on when Daylen Lile hit a double down the right field line, but Jordan Walker delivered a perfect throw to third base to retire Lile on a call that was confirmed after Washington manager Blake Butera challenged.Nationals: Have not named a starting pitcher when they face Tigers RHP River Ryan who will be making his season debut in Detroit Monday night.Cardinals: Open a three-game series in Pittsburgh Monday night where RHP Andre Pallante (12-7, 3.70) will face Pirates RHP Jared Jones (4-6, 4.17)___See AP’s full MLB coverage hereSponsored Content by Taboola