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VIERA, Fla. -- The Nationals' Carlos Maldonado hit a game-tying homer off Cardinals reliever Lance Lynn in the ninth inning as Washington tied St. Louis, 3-3, at Space Coast Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
The game was tied at 1 when the Cardinals took the lead off reliever Brad Lidge in the seventh inning. With runners on first and second and one out, Matt Adams hit a grounder to second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir, who made a throwing error, allowing Daniel Descalso to score the go-ahead run.
Tyler Greene, who is fighting for a spot on St. Louis' 25-man roster, followed with a single to left field, scoring Adron Chambers.
It was game that saw Nationals right-hander Jordan Zimmermann make his first start of the spring, and it was a successful outing for the right-hander. He pitched three shutout innings, allowed three hits, struck out three and walked one.
Top prospect Shelby Miller was the starter for St. Louis, and lasted two innings while allowing one run on two hits. The run scored in the first inning, when Jason Michaels singled to center, scoring Ian Desmond.
"I felt better in the second inning," Miller said. "I felt like I was throwing the curveball better. I felt like I was in the zone. That first inning, I just left the ball up on those two pitches and they hit them."
Up next: The Cardinals return home on Thursday for a 12:05 p.m. ET game against the Red Sox. Jaime Garcia will make his first start of the spring with a lineup of veterans behind him. Both Lance Berkman and Rafael Furcal are expected to make their Grapefruit League debuts on Thursday, which is St. Louis' only home game during a five-day span that began on Tuesday. Fernando Salas is among the relievers expected to make an appearance in the game.
Bill Ladson is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, All Nats All the time. He also could be found on Twitter @WashingNats. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
