Wood, Lowe HRs power Washington past Cardinals 8-2 as Cairo earns 1st win as Nats’ interim manager

ST. LOUIS (AP) — James Wood hit his 24th homer, Nathaniel Lowe added a three-run shot and the Washington Nationals beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 Wednesday night to give interim manager Miguel Cairo his first victory.

Cairo took over when Washington fired manager Dave Martinez and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo hour after a 6-4 loss to Boston on Sunday.

Wood hit a solo homer in the seventh inning with an exit velocity of 115.9 mph that traveled 433 feet to center field. Wood has been named an All-Star and will take part in the Home Run Derby.

Lowe staked Washington to a lead in the first inning with his 14th homer of the season. The Nationals added three more runs in the sixth on an RBI double by Alex Call and a bloop single with the bases loaded by Jacob Young that scored two runs.

Amed Rosario hit a solo homer, his fifth, in the fifth inning, for a 7-1 lead. MacKenzie Gore (4-8) pitched six innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk while striking out seven as the Nationals snapped a four-game skid.

Washington Nationals’ Nathaniel Lowe watches his three-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Andre Pallante (5-5) worked six innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout. Masyn Winn had three hits for the Cardinals.

Key moment

Lowe’s 360-foot homer in the first inning wasn’t nearly as prodigious as Wood’s, but it gave the Nationals all the runs they would need.

Key stat

While Cairo got his first win as the Nationals’ manager, it wasn’t his first in the majors. Cairo was Tony La Russa’s bench coach with the Chicago White Sox from 2021-22 and went 18-16 as interim manager when La Russa went on medical leave.