WASHINGTON (AP) – Adam Wainwright threw a two-hitter Thursday night for his seventh career shutout, chipped in at the plate with a double and single, and St. Louis benefited from four errors by Washington in the Cardinals’ 8-0 victory.

Wainwright allowed Ian Desmond’s infield single in the second inning and Adam LaRoche’s single to right in the ninth. He struck out eight and walked three. During one dominant stretch, the runner-up for the 2013 NL Cy Young award retired 18 consecutive batters. This was the right-hander’s 17th complete game and his fourth two-hitter.

Desmond, Washington’s shortstop, made a pair of errors, raising his season total to seven. The Nationals have 20 through 16 games, an average of 1.25.