When Edwin Jackson walked Jon Jay to lead off the top of the seventh inning, it was the fourth consecutive inning that the lead off batter got on base for the Cardinals, and it ended up representing another run for St. Louis as they cut the Washington lead to 6-4.
While the Nationals escaped the top of the sixth without allowing a run, a double by Carlos Beltran with no outs and Jay on first set the Cardinals up with another golden scoring opportunity. While Matt Holliday didn't cash in very big with a groundout to the shortstop, it was enough to bring Jay home and cut further into the Washington lead.
Jackson took care of business with a strikeout of Allen Craig and, although he walked Yadier Molina to give the Cardinals first and second base with two outs, he finished the inning with another strikeout by getting David Freese to swing at and miss a slider.
After escaping the jam with only one run allowed, the Nationals need to hold a two-run lead for six more outs and they'll earn themselves a trip to the National League Championship Series.