Patrick Corbin struck out 11 in six innings, Howie Kendrick homered, Victor Robles had a pair of two-out RBI hits, and the Washington Nationals scored a big win Tuesday night.
The Nats topped St. Louis, 6-2, and coupled with a Chicago Cubs loss, Washington, for the moment, has a game and a half edge in the NL wild-card race.
Milwaukee also won Tuesday night, 3-1 over San Diego, to catch the Cubs in a tie for the second wild-card spot.
The Brewers (82-69) have won 11 of their last 12.
The Cubs (also 82-69) and Brew Crew are both two games back of the Cardinals (84-67) in the NL Central race.
Basically, there are four teams alive for three playoff spots with a week and a half to go in the 2019 season.
The Nationals (83-67) had lost eight of 12 coming into Tuesday, but got the strong outing from Corbin (13-7, 3.10 ERA), who gave up two unearned runs in his six-inning stint, allowing five hits and walking four.
Kendrick had a triple and a homer in his first two at-bats, and finished the night 3-for-4 with a walk.
Robles was 2-for-3 with RBI singles in the sixth and eighth.
The two teams conclude their three-game series Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. Eastern. Max Scherzer (10-6, 2.65 ERA) faces Adam Wainwright (12-9, 4.00 ERA).
Story by Chris Graham