The pitching tandem of Suppan, Wainwright and Isringhausen shut down the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. The three-pitcher combo allowed just 5 hits and 4 walks over 9 innings of work. The Cardinals got runs in the 1st and 7th innings to beat the Nationals 2-0 and maintain their course towards the 2006 playoffs.

Jeff Suppan got the start and won for the Cardinals. He is now 11-7 on the season. Jason Isringhausen came on in the 9th. He walked 2 and struck out 2 to earn his 33rd save of the season.

Pedro Astacio started for the Nationals. He went 6.1 innings and allowed 2 runs over 6 hits. It wasn’t a bad outing for Astacio, but he had no run support. He’s 3-5 on the season. Wagner, Rauch and Rivera came on in relief of Astacio and pitched shut out innings. However, the damage was done and the Nationals bats were quiet.

Alfonso Soriano was 1 for 4 with a single and a walk. Johnson, Kearns, Schneider, and Logan followed in his footsteps—each getting one hit. The game winning hit came in the first inning when Albert Pujols smacked his 44th home run of the season to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead—that’s all they needed.

The Cardinals take game two of this three game series. It’s now tied at one game apiece. The last time these two met; it was in St. Louis for a four game set. The Cardinals took 3 of 4. Thanks to the collapse of the Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals have pulled away in the NL Central. They have a six game lead. The Nationals are just playing for pride and paychecks at this point.