Paul DeJong homered for the second straight day after ending a minor league demotion, Andre Pallante pitched into the ninth inning and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 Sunday.
Corey Dickerson also homered for the Cardinals, who broke the game open in the fourth inning
An All-Star in 2019, DeJong was demoted to Triple-A Memphis in May after hitting .130 with one home run in 24 games. He seemed to rediscover his power stroke with the Redbirds, slugging 17 homers in 51 games, including one in each of his final three games. DeJong homered in his return Saturday, then connected again in the sixth inning Sunday.
Pallante (4-4) allowed five hits in eight-plus innings and earned his first road victory for St. Louis, striking out a career-high eight and walking one.
After a day off Monday, RHP Adam Wainwright (7-8, 3.28 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series at home Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs, 5:50 with the pregame and the first pitch at 6:45 on KIRX.
Boston beat Milwaukee 7-2, so the Brewers lead is 3 games over the Cardinals.