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.

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.

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.

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.

Washington's Michael Soroka (3-6, 5.40) pitches against St. Louis' Miles Mikolas (4-6, 5.36) on Thursday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

St. Louis Cardinals' Willson Contreras slams his down his helmet after flying out to end the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Washington Nationals' Amed Rosario celebrates as he rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Washington Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo watches from the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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)

Washington Nationals' James Wood watches his solo home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

ADELBODEN, Switzerland (AP) — The big surprise of the World Cup slalom season scored his second win Sunday adding to his fast-rising reputation before the Winter Olympics.

Paco Rassat raced to the fastest time in the second run to rise from fourth place, and push two Norwegians down the podium steps after they had been fastest in the morning run.

United States-born Atle Lie McGrath was edged out by 0.18 seconds and first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen dropped to third, trailing 0.20 behind Rassat.

The 27-year-old Frenchman had a career-best result of ninth in World Cup races before this Olympic season started.

Rassat now has two wins, a third place and two sixth places this season and shapes as a medal contender for the Milano Cortina Olympics. The men’s slalom is on Feb. 16 at Bormio.

“To win on this crazy hill at Adelboden, It’s something really unbelievable," Rassat told Swiss broadcaster RTS, describing his season as “a magnificent surprise.”

Rassat also took the lead in the seasonlong World Cup slalom standings, ahead of his France teammate Clément Noël, the defending Olympic champion. Noël tied for eighth Sunday.

McGrath was runner-up in the Adelboden slalom for the third time in four years.

“It’s kind of crazy,” said McGrath, whose father Felix skied for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. “I’m of course super happy, it’s such a challenging slope and mentally it’s one of the toughest places to perform because of this amazing crowd.”

Another packed finish-area crowd at Adelboden observed a minute’s silence before racing for the victims of the fatal fire in a bar in nearby Crans-Montana on New Year’s Day. Crans-Montana hosts men’s and women’s World Cup races in three weeks’ time.

The World Cup overall standings leader, four-time title holder Marco Odermatt, does not ski slalom and his huge lead was cut a little by Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who placed fourth. Pinheiro Braathen was second to Odermatt in the classic giant slalom Saturday.

The men’s World Cup circuit stays in central Switzerland for the storied Lauberhorn meeting at Wengen, for a super-G on Friday, the classic downhill Saturday and a slalom Sunday.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

France's Paco Rassat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

France's Paco Rassat reacts at the finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Finland's Eduard Hallberg speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Adelboden, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)