51ºÚÁÏ

His fellow Cardinals starters have set a high bar for Miles Mikolas in recent days.

Mikolas starts at 12:35 p.m. (51ºÚÁÏ time) Sunday as the Cardinals shoot for a sweep in the finale of a three-game set in Washington.

51ºÚÁÏ held off Washington 4-2 on Saturday.

In four starts since Mikolas last took the mound, Cardinals starters have a 0.89 ERA and have gone at least seven innings in each.

The right-hander Miles Mikolas (1-2, 4.76) has been much improved since an ugly loss at Boston in early April. In his last five starts, he has a 2.77 ERA, averaging a touch more than five innings per outing.

Opponents are hitting .216 against Mikolas in that span, down from .281 last year over the full season.

The batting average against Mikolas' slider is down to .234 in 2025 from .301 a year ago.

Left-hander MacKenzie Gore (2-3, 3.33) will take the hill for Washington.

He has a 10.05 ERA in three starts against 51ºÚÁÏ, his worst vs. any team that he's thrown more than 10 innings against.

In one start in 2023 and two last season, Gore has given up either five or six earned runs in each game vs. 51ºÚÁÏ.

The Cardinals are 21-19 and have won seven straight, their longest streak since 2022. They trail Chicago by two games in the National League Central.

Washington is 17-23 and has lost four straight.

How to watch Cardinals at Nationals

When: 12:35 p.m. (51ºÚÁÏ time) Sunday

Where: Nationals Park in Washington

TV/radio: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest (); KMOX (1120 AM and 104.1 FM), other stations in the as well as .

Your options to watch: Input your ZIP code and see your choices for watching Cardinals games.

Lineups

CARDINALS

1. Lars Nootbaar, LF
2. Masyn Winn, SS
3. Brendan Donovan, 2B
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Willson Contreras, 1B
6. Iván Herrera, DH
7. Yohel Pozo, C
8. Jordan Walker, RF
9. Victor Scott II, CF

P: Miles Mikolas, RHP

NATIONALS

1. CJ Abrams, SS

2. Alex Call, RF

3. James Wood, LF

4. Nathaniel Lowe, 1B

5. Josh Bell, DH

6. Luis García Jr., 2B

7. Dylan Crews, CF

8. José Tena, 3B

9. Riley Adams, C

P: MacKenzie Gore, LHP

Injury report

Zack Thompson, LHP (lat strain): Lefty is going through strengthening exercises and the early stages of a throwing program. Thus far, he's not had any setbacks that would cause alarm about the area around his shoulder or elbow. On April 7, Thompson was transferred to the 60-day IL. Updated May 9