On the eve of their first meeting with the rival Cubs, the Cardinals got a career-best from Hudson, a partial day off for so many of their regulars, and just about everything Thursday they could have wanted except for one play, one check-swing, and the one win that slipped away. Washington turned an error in the fourth inning into two runs and followed Stephen Strasburg to a 2-1 victory at Nationals Park. The win salvaged one evening in the four-game series for the hosts, who still fired their pitching coach, former Cardinals’ pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, after the game.
Cardinals drop series finale against Nats
