Mike Leake restores order, but a loss is a loss for Cardinals

11:26 PM ET

WASHINGTON — Only three swings mattered Thursday night, but there was a fourth that very nearly mattered. Stephen Drew took a big swing at a Mike Leake cutter down the middle and mishit it, swatting the bottom of the ball. It went soaring straight up in the air before returning to earth somewhere between the pitcher’s mound and third base.

Leake ran over and got underneath it, listening for a St. Louis Cardinals infielder to call him off. By the time one finally did, it was too late. By then, Leake figured he had no choice and called for it himself. His voice and Aledmys Diaz’s voice drowned each other out, and they collided, the ball popping out of Diaz’s glove

Straight into Yadier Molina’s mitt.

“Luckily, Yadi was a smart enough player to come and protect us,” Leake said.

Had that ball dropped, Leake’s next pitch in the seventh inning would have been even more of a bummer. It was a changeup right down the middle that Danny Espinosa hammered into the right-field stands for the difference in the Washington Nationals’ 2-1 win at Nationals Park.

That inning epitomized some of the dysfunction that keeps the Cardinals stuck on this hamster wheel of mediocrity. Diaz, a rookie shortstop, has been a huge addition with his bat — his solo home run in the fourth was St. Louis’ only scoring off of promising young Washington starter Joe …

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